South African lawmaker questions decision to relocate Taiwan office

Johannesburg, Jan. 13 (CNA) The decision by South Africa to ask Taiwan to relocate and rename its representative office in Pretoria lacked transparency and was not properly reviewed, according to a South African lawmaker from the country's second largest political party.

"There has been no full debate, no serious committee engagement, and no attempt by the executive to explain itself in a transparent way," Janho Engelbrecht, a National Assembly member representing the Democratic Alliance (DA), told CNA in a recent written interview.

"For a decision with clear diplomatic and economic consequences, this approach is completely inadequate," he argued, accusing the governing African National Congress (ANC) of behaving "as if foreign policy is its sole responsibility" despite being part of a national unity government.

Engelbrecht said that if the ANC continues to believe that it can make major foreign-policy decisions "behind closed doors," it would weaken parliamentary oversight.

The lawmaker, who has been critical of his government's approach on the issue but also cautioned Taiwan, in an interview with CNA in August 2025, against using economic sanctions against South Africa, argued such oversight was a better way to proceed.

He called on South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), which initially announced the country's decision in 2024, to put a "clear, written position" on the Taiwan office issue before the Parliament for "proper committee scrutiny."

Engelbrecht argued that relations with the Taiwanese community "should not be sacrificed for short-term geopolitical considerations," especially given the investment, manufacturing, and job creation contributions Taiwanese businesses have made.

It is unclear how widely Engelbrecht's views are held in the 400-seat National Assembly, or even within his party, which holds 87 seats and is a key player in the governing coalition led by the ANC.

Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said in May 2025 that DIRCO's decision had been criticized by other South African political parties, including those in the coalition government, but that has not seemed to change the government's position.

DIRCO announced the decision to categorize the Taiwan representative office as a "trade office" and move it from the political and executive capital of Pretoria to the commercial capital, Johannesburg, in October 2024.

Despite Taiwan's accusations that the move was made due to Chinese pressure, the agency said at the time that the move would be "a true reflection of the non-political and non-diplomatic nature of the relationship between the Republic of South Africa and Taiwan."

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested the decision, citing a 1997 bilateral agreement that allowed the Taipei office to operate in Pretoria after diplomatic ties between the two countries were severed in 1998.

It also called for talks between the two sides to come up with a new agreement, but to date no such discussions have been held.

DIRCO first asked Taiwan to make the move, to be completed in six months, in April 2024, but did not announce it until the deadline was almost reached. Yet, though the request remains in effect, Taiwan's representative office in Pretoria still continues to provide services to Taiwanese in South Africa and maintains normal operations, according to MOFA.

The South African representative office in Taiwan, called the Liaison Office of South Africa in Taipei, also continues to operate normally.