South Africa resumes request for relocation of Taiwan representative office

Taipei, Feb. 2 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) confirmed on Sunday that the South African government has resumed its request for Taiwan to relocate its representative office from Pretoria, the country's capital.

In a press statement, MOFA said the South African government sent a letter to the Taipei Liaison Office in the Republic of South Africa in late January, repeating an earlier demand that the office be relocated from Pretoria, on this occasion by the end of March.

The South African government has even sought to "downgrade" the representative office and re-categorize it as a "trade office," the statement said.

According to MOFA, the South African government's new demand at a time when negotiations between the two sides about how to handle bilateral ties are ongoing "shows that China's pressure on Taiwan in South Africa has intensified."

South Africa first made an oral request for Taiwan to relocate its office in December 2023, followed by an official letter in April 2024.

A further request for the relocation was made in October 2024 and had a deadline at the end of that month. However, the deadline was later withdrawn after the two side began negotiations.

At that time, MOFA said the demand by South Africa, allegedly due to pressure from China, was "unilateral."

In its statement on Sunday, MOFA reiterated that Taiwan's government does not accept the South African side's breach of a bilateral agreement signed in 1997, which paved the way for the establishment of reciprocal representative offices in each other's capital.

Taiwan's government continues to talk with its South African counterpart and will decide its response based on subsequent developments, it said.

MOFA said under the 1997 agreement, Taiwan was to continue to operate a liaison office in Pretoria after the end of formal diplomatic tie between the Republic of China (Taiwan's official name) and South Africa in 1998.

According to the deal, South Africa is also allowed to have a presence in Taipei.

It remains unclear why the South African government resumed its demand but the country's news outlet Daily Maverick reported that it happened after the Chinese embassy in Pretoria sanctioned Ivan Meyer, federal chairperson of the Democratic Alliance, for recently visiting Taiwan.

The Democratic Alliance is the second biggest party in South Africa and is part of the current South African coalition government.