A recent diplomatic development has underscored the broad global consensus on the one-China principle, after three African countries withdrew overflight clearances for Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te’s canceled trip to Eswatini, a Chinese mainland spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. Zhang Han, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, emphasized at a regular press briefing that the Chinese government greatly values the commitment of the involved nations to upholding the one-China principle. This incident, Zhang noted, offers clear, renewed proof that the one-China principle stands as a fundamental norm governing modern international relations, and a consensus embraced overwhelmingly across the global community. It aligns with the broader trend of the times, the greater good of the international order, and the shared will of most countries, she added. Lai had scheduled a five-day visit to Eswatini, which remains the only African nation that maintains unofficial so-called diplomatic ties with Taiwan, running from Wednesday to Sunday. However, Lai’s own office announced Tuesday that Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar had all revoked prior approvals for Lai’s aircraft to traverse their airspace. Without the required overflight permissions, the planned trip was called off entirely. In responding to unsubstantiated claims from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in Taiwan that the Chinese mainland had coerced the three African nations into reversing their permits, Zhang dismissed the accusations as baseless rumor-mongering designed to distract from the reality of widespread international recognition of the one-China principle. The DPP’s narrative, analysts note, fails to account for the consistent position of most United Nations member states, which have repeatedly reaffirmed their commitment to the one-China principle as the foundation for diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.
分类： politics
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New policies, measures bring reassurance to Taiwan youth
A new set of targeted cross-Strait policies released by the Chinese mainland has injected fresh confidence and certainty among young Taiwanese residents building lives and pursuing opportunities across the Taiwan Strait, according to a young Taiwanese participant in a recent cross-Strait exchange forum.
Speaking to China Daily on the sidelines of the seventh annual forum for social groups led by Taiwan compatriots, Hsu Tao, a young Taiwanese currently based on the mainland, noted that the 10-measure policy package unveiled on April 12, 2026 addresses long-standing priorities for youth exchange and connectivity across the Strait. He emphasized that the new framework will strengthen the sense of security for Taiwan youth developing their careers and lives on the mainland, while deepening the personal bonds that connect communities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Key provisions of the policy package include the establishment of a formal, institutionalized platform to support sustained two-way exchanges between young people from both sides of the Strait. The new measures also prioritize the full resumption of regular direct cross-Strait passenger flights, a move that will remove long-standing travel barriers that have separated family, friends and professional connections across the Strait in recent years.
The policy rollout comes as the mainland continues to advance people-centered initiatives to support cross-Strait exchange, address the practical needs of Taiwan residents, and foster closer economic, cultural and social integration across the Taiwan Strait. For young Taiwanese seeking educational, employment and entrepreneurial opportunities on the mainland, the new framework offers clear structural support that reduces uncertainty and opens new pathways for cross-Strait engagement.
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EU envoys meet in hopes of approving a long-delayed loan to Ukraine
BRUSSELS – After months of debilitating deadlock that left Kyiv waiting for critical support amid its ongoing war with Russia, European Union envoys convened in Brussels this week with a rare sense of cautious optimism that a historic €90 billion ($106 billion) multi-year loan package for Ukraine could finally win final approval as soon as Thursday. The massive funding package is designed to cover Ukraine’s urgent military and core financial needs over the next two years, shoring up an economy shattered by nearly four years of full-scale Russian invasion and helping Kyiv maintain its defensive line against advancing Moscow forces.
The months-long logjam revolved around a single sticking point: Hungary’s veto, which Prime Minister Viktor Orbán – who was ousted in last month’s general election and will step down next month to make way for pro-EU opposition leader Péter Magyar – refused to lift until Russian oil shipments via the Druzhba pipeline through Ukrainian territory resumed. Hungary and neighboring Slovakia both remain dependent on Russian crude to meet their national energy demands, and the two countries had accused Kyiv of dragging its feet on repairing a section of the pipeline damaged in a Russian missile strike earlier this year.
That barrier appears to have been cleared, Ukrainian officials confirmed this week. In a social media statement Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that all repair work on the damaged pipeline segment was complete. “The pipeline was damaged by a Russian strike, but it can resume operation now,” Zelenskyy said, adding that there are no longer any justifications for holding up the aid package. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reinforced that position, telling reporters Wednesday that Kyiv has fulfilled all conditions placed on it to unlock the funds: “We have completed everything — there is a date set, and the infrastructure has been repaired.” As of Wednesday, pipeline operator Ukrtransnaft had already resumed pumping crude into the line, and Slovakia’s Economy Minister Denisa Saková projected full shipments would reach the country early Thursday.
Even with repairs complete, however, final approval remains contingent on Orbán’s government following through on its threat to lift the veto once oil flows resume. EU diplomats spent Wednesday gauging whether Budapest would send the formal green light, with Cyprus – which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency – already preparing to launch a formal written approval procedure once the veto is lifted. Such procedures typically remain open for 24 hours, aligning with the timeline for final approval to come during Thursday’s scheduled EU leader summit in Nicosia.
Given repeated false starts on unlocking the aid over recent months, EU officials are approaching the potential breakthrough with measured caution. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas declined to speculate on a guaranteed outcome when pressed by reporters Tuesday, noting: “We expect an agreement in 24 hours, so I don’t want to jinx it.”
The path to this point has been marked by repeated political wrangling over the structure of the aid package. The EU initially planned to back the loan using frozen Russian sovereign assets held across the bloc as collateral, but that plan was derailed by objections from Belgium, where the vast majority of these frozen assets are stored. A revised framework was struck in December, when Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic agreed to allow the EU to raise the funds on international markets without requiring the three nations to participate in any guarantee obligations. Orbán later backtracked on that agreement amid his re-election campaign, tying the aid to the pipeline dispute and drawing sharp anger from the other 24 EU member states, before ultimately losing his bid for re-election in a landslide on April 12.
Parallel to the aid negotiations, the EU is also working to unblock a new package of economic sanctions against Russia, which have also been held up by Hungary and Slovakia over the same pipeline dispute. Unlike the aid package, however, diplomats indicate the new sanctions could take significantly longer to finalize. Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár confirmed Tuesday that his country would only support the new sanctions once oil shipments are confirmed to have resumed, noting as of Tuesday that “we do not have such information yet.”
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EU decides on key €90bn Ukraine loan after pipeline deadlock ends
After months of political gridlock that left Ukraine waiting for critically needed financial support, European Union ambassadors are convening in Cyprus this week with widespread optimism that a stalled €90 billion ($78 billion) emergency loan for Kyiv will finally receive final approval. The landmark funding package was first agreed to by all 27 EU member states back in December 2024, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán placed a veto on disbursement in February 2025, tying the release of the loan directly to the restoration of Russian oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline, which stopped flowing at the end of January.
The disruption to Druzhba, one of Europe’s longest-running oil supply routes, originated after Russian missile strikes targeted a key Ukrainian oil hub along the pipeline in late January. Ukrainian officials confirmed the attack caused substantial damage to infrastructure at the Brody hub, with emergency services releasing photos of smoke rising from the facility after the bombardment. Satellite imagery of the site later corroborated the extent of the damage, and Kyiv noted that repair efforts were slowed by ongoing Russian threats to engineering teams working in the combat zone. Orbán, however, dismissed Ukraine’s explanation and framed the disruption as a deliberate “oil blockade” against Hungary and neighboring Slovakia, demanding full resumption of flows before lifting his veto.
Two key developments have now cleared the path to ending the deadlock, EU diplomats say. First, Ukrainian authorities confirmed last week that all repairs to the Druzhba hub have been completed, and Hungarian energy giant Mol announced Tuesday that Ukrainian pipeline operators notified it that oil supplies would restart Wednesday for both Hungary and Slovakia — marking the first resumption of flows in nearly three months. Second, Orbán’s 16-year consecutive tenure as Hungarian prime minister came to an end after his ruling party lost a bitterly contested national election on 13 April 2025. Hungary’s incoming prime minister, Péter Magyar, has made resetting Budapest’s strained relations with Brussels a central policy priority, removing a long-standing barrier to EU consensus on Ukraine support.
Ahead of the ambassadorial meeting, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas voiced strong confidence that a positive outcome would be reached. “We expect some positive decisions… on the €90bn loan,” Kallas told reporters. “Ukraine really needs this loan and it’s also a sign that Russia cannot outlast Ukraine.” For Kyiv, the funding is not just politically symbolic — it is an urgent matter of survival, according to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka, who described the package as “a matter of life and death” for the country. Under the original agreement, two-thirds of the €90 billion will be allocated to reinforcing Ukraine’s defense capabilities against Russia’s full-scale invasion, while the remaining third will go toward general financial stabilization and supporting core public services.
Orbán, who remains in office as a caretaker prime minister until Magyar’s government is formed in early May, confirmed his position over the weekend, stating that once oil flows through Druzhba were restored, “we will no longer stand in the way of approving the loan.” The former prime minister’s decision to backtrack on the December 2024 agreement had sparked deep anger among other EU leaders, who had already granted Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic an opt-out from the EU’s broader Russian oil sanctions to accommodate their energy dependence on Druzhba supplies.
Long viewed as the European Union’s most Kremlin-aligned leader, Orbán centered his failed re-election campaign on open hostility to both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and EU institutional leadership. Campaign posters distributed across Hungary depicted Zelenskyy alongside opposition candidate Péter Magyar with the slogan: “They are dangerous!” In recent days, Zelenskyy has held urgent talks with senior EU leaders to push for the loan’s unblocking, including conversations with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa on Tuesday.
“There can be no grounds for blocking it any more,” Zelenskyy said after the calls. “The EU asked Ukraine to repair the Druzhba oil pipeline, which had been destroyed by Russia. We have repaired it. We hope the EU will also deliver on the agreed commitments.” Even if the ambassadors formally approve the disbursement this week, Ukrainian media outlets report that administrative and financial processing will likely take several more weeks before the funds actually arrive in Kyiv. In a parallel development that underscores the ongoing disruption to energy infrastructure tied to the conflict, Ukrainian forces have also targeted Russian oil facilities linked to the Druzhba pipeline this week, including a pumping station in Russia’s Samara region.
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US charges anti-extremism group over payments to informants in hate groups
On Tuesday, Acting United States Attorney General Todd Blanche made a landmark announcement of federal criminal charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a decades-old civil rights organization long known for its work tracking extremist movements and leading high-profile campaigns against the Ku Klux Klan. The charges mark a dramatic escalation of long-running tensions between the SPLC and the current Trump-aligned administration, laying out a series of serious fraud and money laundering allegations against the non-profit group.
The 11-count indictment handed down by the Department of Justice (DOJ) includes six charges of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. At the core of the government’s case is the accusation that the SPLC deceived its donors by funnelling millions of dollars in charitable contributions to paid informants embedded within the very extremist groups the organization claims to oppose—going so far as to enable the extremism it says it fights. According to the indictment, between 2014 and 2023 alone, the SPLC directed more than $3 million to individuals with ties to violent extremist organizations, including the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi group National Alliance, and the National Socialist Movement. One prominent case cited in the charging document details more than $1 million paid over nine years to an informant who stole 25 boxes of internal documents from the National Alliance’s headquarters. In another, the SPLC transferred over $270,000 to an individual who helped plan and attended the deadly 2017 Unite the Right white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia; the indictment does not clarify what work the payment was for.
Blanche laid out the government’s position during Tuesday’s press conference, arguing that the SPLC had betrayed public trust. “The SPLC is a non-profit entity that purports to fight white supremacy and racial hatred by reporting on extremist groups and conducting research to inform law enforcement groups with the goal of dismantling these groups,” Blanche said. “The SPLC was not dismantling these groups. It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred.”
Leadership of the Montgomery, Alabama-based organization has pushed back forcefully against the charges, framing the indictment as a politically motivated attack by an administration that has long targeted the SPLC for its work. Interim SPLC leader Bryan Fair released a pre-emptive video statement ahead of the official announcement of charges, noting the group’s 55-year history of combating white supremacy and systemic injustice. “We are therefore unsurprised to be the latest organisation targeted by this administration,” Fair said. He defended the group’s past use of paid informants, arguing the practice was a necessary safety measure given the long history of violence and threats against the organization. Fair pointed to the 1983 firebomb attack on the SPLC’s former office as evidence of the persistent danger the group faces, adding that the organization historically shared all intelligence gathered by informants with law enforcement partners including the FBI. “These individuals risked their lives to infiltrate and inform on the activities of our nation’s most radical and violent extremist groups,” he said. Fair also confirmed the SPLC no longer works with paid informants, and accused prosecutors of weaponizing the federal justice system to target a political opponent. “Today, the federal government has been weaponised to dismantle the rights of our nation’s most vulnerable people, and any organization like ours that stands in the breach,” he said. The group’s president has also reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to mounting a vigorous legal defense of its work, staff, and mission.
Tensions between the SPLC and the Trump administration predate the current charges, with the FBI formally cutting ties with the group last October after labeling it a “partisan smear machine.” For years, conservative Republicans have also criticized the SPLC for what they call unfair targeting of right-leaning organizations, including Turning Point USA, the Family Research Council, and Moms for Liberty, as well as former officials aligned with the Trump administration.
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Trump threatens to bomb Iran again after announcing ceasefire extension
WASHINGTON, April 22 – In a contradictory series of announcements that have amplified tensions in the already volatile Persian Gulf, US President Donald Trump has extended a fragile two-week ceasefire with Iran even as he issued a stark new threat to launch devastating bombing strikes on Iranian territory, including targeting the country’s top leadership.
The current temporary truce between the two nations was scheduled to expire at the end of Wednesday. Early on Tuesday, Trump confirmed that the ceasefire would remain in place for an additional period, a move that briefly raised hopes for de-escalation in the standoff centered on the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly a fifth of global oil supplies pass daily.
However, just hours after announcing the ceasefire extension, the US president took to his Truth Social platform to deliver a bellicose warning that undercuts any prospects for diplomatic negotiation between the two countries. Trump claimed that any US action to reopen the Strait of Hormuz – a key shipping chokepoint that has been a flashpoint in US-Iran tensions for decades – would rule out any future diplomatic agreement with Tehran.
“An agreement would be impossible unless we blow up the rest of their country,” Trump wrote in the social media post. He added that Iranian national leaders are explicitly “included” in the targets of any potential new bombing campaign.
The dual announcements have drawn international attention, as the global community has repeatedly called for restraint to prevent a full-scale conflict from breaking out in the Middle East. The United Nations recently publicly voiced hope that talks between the US and Iran could be resumed to resolve outstanding differences through diplomatic channels, but Trump’s latest threat casts significant doubt on the prospects for any near-term diplomatic breakthrough.
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Experts urge sweeping tax overhaul to scrap stamp duty for land tax
Australia’s deepening housing affordability crisis has prompted policy experts to call for sweeping tax reform centered on abolishing what they label the nation’s most economically harmful tax, a change that could open homeownership pathways to thousands of aspiring buyers and downsizers alike. The proposal was laid out during recent hearings of the Senate Select Committee on Productivity, convened to identify actionable solutions to Australia’s decades-long housing shortage.
Matthew Bowes, senior associate at leading independent think tank the Grattan Institute, argues that replacing stamp duty — an upfront tax levied on property transactions — with a broad-based annual land tax would deliver two major wins: a fairer taxation system and a $19 billion annual boost to national economic output. “All taxes dampen economic activity to some degree, but stamp duty is by far the most damaging of all taxes levied in Australia,” Bowes explained. He noted that the reform would primarily benefit two groups locked out of flexible property market access: young households saving for their first home, and older Australians looking to downsize to more appropriate accommodation after their children leave home.
Despite these long-term benefits, Bowes acknowledged that the reform creates significant near-term fiscal challenges for state governments, which currently rely on the bulk of stamp duty revenue collected upfront when a property changes hands. Shifting to a land tax would spread revenue collection over decades, creating an immediate fiscal gap that states have so far been reluctant to absorb. “When you move from an upfront lump-sum tax to a recurring annual tax, you defer a huge share of government revenue,” Bowes said. “That fiscal gap is the single biggest barrier holding states back from adopting this reform.”
Additional structural barriers to reform also complicate adoption: the current GST distribution framework, designed to deliver horizontal fiscal equalization across Australia’s states and territories, penalizes states that grow their own revenue. If a state’s independent revenue increases after tax reform, its share of federal GST distributions is cut, creating an additional financial disincentive that has discouraged past attempts to change stamp duty policy.
Beyond tax reform, the inquiry has also shone a light on deep-rooted productivity failures that have pushed housing prices higher and slowed new construction, worsening the nation’s housing shortage. The federal government’s National Housing Accord sets an ambitious target of building 1.2 million new homes by 2029, requiring 240,000 new completions annually to hit the mark. While recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows a strong 29.7% jump in dwelling approvals in February, hitting 19,022 for the month, total approvals over the past 12 months sit at just 196,000 — far below the required annual rate.
The February growth was driven by a surge in multi-dwelling development: apartment approvals skyrocketed 191.2% to 5,399 units, while townhouse approvals rebounded 73.8% from a sharp January drop to hit 2,981. Even with this monthly gain, however, the national pipeline remains too small to close the gap between supply and strong population-driven demand.
Housing Industry Association (HIA) managing director Jocelyn Martin told the inquiry that falling construction productivity over the past decade is a major driver of rising housing costs, with excessive regulatory burden the single biggest drag on sector performance. “Residential construction faces multiple overlapping layers of regulation across local, state, and federal levels — everything from planning and zoning rules to environmental approvals and frequent, complex changes to the National Construction Code,” Martin explained. “Every extra layer adds cost, delay, uncertainty, and risk, pulling resources away from actual home building and limiting the industry’s ability to innovate and scale up output.”
Independent analysis from the Productivity Commission backs this assessment, finding that regulation adds between $135,000 and $320,000 in extra cost to the construction of a single detached home, and between $40,000 and $175,000 for each apartment unit. Martin emphasized that any push to improve productivity does not require cutting safety or quality standards, instead calling for smarter, more streamlined regulatory design. “The goal is to build regulatory systems that meet public policy objectives while allowing the industry to deliver homes efficiently at scale,” she said.
Martin also noted that Australia’s concentrated settlement patterns amplify existing housing pressures, with strong sustained population growth flowing almost entirely to a small number of major capital cities. “This concentration ramps up pressure on housing markets, infrastructure, and labor supply, while making the productivity challenges this inquiry is investigating far worse,” she added. As the Senate committee continues its work, the dual proposals of tax reform and regulatory streamlining are emerging as core policy options to address one of Australia’s most pressing economic and social challenges.
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‘Wipe them out’: Independent Farrer candidate lashes preference deal as Coalition backs One Nation
The race for the vacant federal seat of Farrer, left open by the departure of former opposition leader Sussan Ley earlier this year, has erupted into controversy after the Liberal-National Coalition formalized a preference deal that places right-wing populist party One Nation ahead of Climate 200-supported independent candidate Michelle Milthorpe. The deal, revealed this week, has drawn sharp criticism from Milthorpe, who argues the Coalition’s decision stems from deep-seated anxiety that Pauline Hanson’s One Nation will eliminate their candidates from contention entirely.
Farrer’s by-election has shaped up as a tight two-horse race between Milthorpe and One Nation’s candidate David Farley, even as both the Liberal and National parties maintain their own candidates in the contest. In tight marginal contests like this, preference flows between candidates often decide the final outcome, making pre-election preference agreements high-stakes political moves.
Milthorpe, who grew up in a National Party-voting household in Cootamundra and once supported Sussan Ley in multiple elections, said she never would have considered running as an independent if regional communities had not been consistently failed by successive major party governments. “If we hadn’t been so let down in the regions by successive governments I can easily imagine running under the Liberal or Nationals banner,” she explained. “But I decided to run as an independent because for decades the parties have acted in their own self-interest, not in the interests of our community.”
Responding to the Coalition’s preference deal, Milthorpe said the agreement served no purpose other than protecting the major parties’ own political standing. “The Coalition has done a deal with One Nation because they are worried One Nation will wipe them out,” she said. “We will never know what One Nation offered the Liberal/National Parties to strike this deal, but what we do know is this isn’t about Farrer. This is a decision made for the good of the Coalition, not for the good of our community.”
Milthorpe drew a clear contrast between her own priorities and those of her One Nation opponent, noting that Farley would always be beholden to party leadership based in Queensland. “I vow to fight every single day for the people of Farrer and only the people of Farrer,” she said. “My One Nation opponent will have to vote every single time with his party boss from Queensland. The parties have not been listening to us, so I expect most voters will return the favour by not listening to their suggestions of who to vote for.”
Preference documents published by candidate campaigns lay out the full order of recommendations. Liberal candidate Raissa Butkowski instructed supporters to rank her first, National candidate Brad Robertson second, and Farley fourth. For his part, Farley recommended voters put Robertson second, Butkowski third, and placed Milthorpe second last at 11th on his ranking.
National Party Leader Matt Canavan, who has campaigned extensively in Farrer in the lead-up to the by-election, pushed back against criticism of the deal in a social media statement. “There is a lot of BS being spread about preferences in the Farrer by election,” he wrote. “But the local news has reported it right. The Nationals are preferencing One Nation ahead of the teal backed candidate because she is backed by people that support net zero and water buybacks.”
The preference deal comes amid ongoing controversy for One Nation, which has faced sustained pressure in recent weeks over the party’s decision to rehire Sean Black, a man convicted of rape. One Nation leaders Pauline Hanson and former National Party leader Barnaby Joyce have both faced scrutiny over the rehiring decision, though that controversy has not been mentioned in public justifications for the preference deal.
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Iran’s decision not to participate in US talks in Pakistan ‘definitive’: Tasnim news agency
TEHRAN – In a clear statement released on Tuesday, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency has confirmed that Tehran’s decision to skip the second round of direct talks with the United States, scheduled to take place this Wednesday in Pakistan, is final and non-negotiable. According to the agency, Pakistani authorities acting as the mediator for the planned diplomatic meeting have already been formally notified of Iran’s choice to withdraw from the engagement. The report added that the decision was crafted to uphold and fully protect the sovereign rights and national interests of the Iranian people, closing the door on any last-minute speculation that Iran might reverse its stance ahead of the planned meeting. This development comes amid long-running tensions between Tehran and Washington, with Pakistan having stepped in to facilitate diplomatic dialogue between the two adversarial nations in recent months.
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Taiwan president cancels trip after African countries close airspace
A landmark development in cross-strait diplomatic tensions has forced Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te to scrap a planned overseas trip to Eswatini, marking the first publicly recorded instance of a Taiwanese leader abandoning a foreign journey after multiple countries revoked required overflight access.
Lai was scheduled to travel to the southern African nation, Taiwan’s only remaining diplomatic ally on the continent, to participate in celebrations marking 40 years of King Mswati III’s reign. According to senior Taiwanese officials, three island nations in the Indian Ocean — Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar — withdrew their previously granted overflight permissions following what Taipei describes as “intense pressure” and economic coercion from Beijing.
In a public statement posted to the social platform X, Lai pushed back against Beijing’s actions, framing the permit revocations as clear examples of authoritarian coercion that highlight broader threats to global international order. “No amount of threats or coercion will shake Taiwan’s resolve to engage with the world,” Lai wrote.
For its part, Beijing has rejected accusations of coercion, instead praising the three African countries for upholding the long-standing one-China principle, which forms the foundation of Beijing’s territorial claim to the self-governing island. In official comments, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office expressed “high appreciation” for the position taken by Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs went further, reiterating that no official title of “President of the Republic of China” holds any international recognition, in a direct rebuke of Lai’s status. Both Seychelles and Madagascar have publicly confirmed their decision to revoke permits stems from their non-recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state, aligning with Beijing’s position.
Eswatini’s government has expressed regret over the canceled visit but emphasized that the disruption will not alter the long-standing bilateral diplomatic ties between the two nations. Currently, only 12 United Nations member states around the world recognize Taiwan diplomatically, most of them small island nations in Latin America and the Pacific.
Cross-strait relations have remained strained since Lai took office, with Beijing repeatedly labeling Lai a “troublemaker” who threatens cross-strait peace. Beijing maintains that Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory, a position it has defended for decades, and has not ruled out the use of military force to bring the island under its control. Most of the international community, including the United Nations, recognizes the one-China principle, though many Western nations maintain unofficial economic and cultural ties with Taiwan.
The cancellation has already drawn criticism from U.S. political leaders. The majority staff of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee issued a statement on X affirming that it “stood with Taiwan against this blatant coercion.” U.S. Senator Ted Cruz also publicly condemned Mauritius’s decision, claiming the country was “determined to ally with the Chinese Communist Party.”