South African party offers Taiwan support on office relocation issue

Taipei, Oct. 19 (CNA) One of the 10 political parties in South Africa's unity government voiced support for Taiwan on Friday after the government unilaterally ordered Taiwan to relocate its diplomatic liaison office away from the capital of Pretoria.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) party "notes with concern that the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has requested the Taipei Liaison Office to leave Pretoria," said party spokesperson for international relations Emma Louise Powell in a statement.

Powell said that in the 26 years since the severance of diplomatic ties between Taiwan and South Africa, a bilateral framework had been in place to enable Taiwan to legally enjoy consular and trade representation in Pretoria and Cape Town.

In its declaration, the South African government, a 10-party coalition headed by the African National Congress (ANC), ordered Taiwan to relocate its representative office in Pretoria before the end of October.

On Thursday, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) alleged that the decree came from pressure from China, and Powell questioned why the order was given.

"While the DA acknowledges South Africa's long-standing interpretation of United Nations Resolution 2758, which aligns with the recognition of One China, we have not been provided with any motivation that justifies a unilateral change to the terms of our bilateral framework with Taiwan," Powell said in the statement.

"It is clear that pressure is being brought to bear on Pretoria by external actors in the context of both broader geopolitical tensions and the newly formed Government of National Unity (GNU)."

The GNU was established earlier this year after the ANC lost its parliamentary majority in South Africa's May 2024 elections.

The ANC had held a majority since 1994, and was forced to form a coalition government with nine other parties.

The DA, which previously was South Africa's main opposition party, finished second in the May polls with 87 of the 400 seats in Parliament, while the ANC had 159.

"The ANC no longer enjoy an outright majority," Powell said, "and as such, are no longer at liberty to unilaterally determine South Africa's foreign policy positions without consulting their partners in government."

Powell added that as a sovereign democracy, South Africa should oppose outside influences shaking its commitment to its policy of non-alignment.

The DIRCO also issued a statement Friday in which it "notes with concern the mischaracterization of its engagements with the Taipei Liaison Office."

It said that due to a lack of political and diplomatic ties since 1997 as well as adherence to United Nations Resolution 2758, moving and rebranding the de facto Taiwanese embassy is "standard diplomatic practice."

The move will be "a true reflection of the non-political and non-diplomatic nature of the relationship between the Republic of South Africa and Taiwan," the DIRCO statement said.

China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning (毛寧) said in response to the move: "We appreciate South Africa's correct decision to relocate the Taipei Liaison Office in South Africa out of Pretoria, the administrative capital."