By Olayinka Oyegbile

Finally, Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te was able to make his scheduled trip to Eswatini, the only African country with which Taiwan has diplomatic relations. According to reports, the visit which should have been from April 22-26, 2026, was aborted because three Indian Ocean countries – Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar- revoked the flight permits earlier granted the president’s flight after what a Taiwanese official alleged was as a result of “intense pressure” and economic coercion from China.

The president’s trip was to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Eswatini’s King Mswati III’s accession and birthday and was meant for bilateral talks as well as the signing of an agreement on customs. However, a Chinese official while praising the three countries for denying the president of the flight permits denied that the step was taken as a result of coercion from Beijing. But observers say this was not true pointing out that China must have used what has been described in diplomatic circuits as its usual “Dollar Diplomacy”, a system in which it makes countries support it actions through granting of loans and credit facilities.

For instance, Zambia on May 2, 2026, abruptly cancelled an international conference on digital media and human rights scheduled to begin in the country from May 5-8. The permanent secretary for the Ministry of Information & Media, Thabo Kawana, said the conference could no longer hold because the government wanted to ensure the gathering “aligns with Zambia’s national values, policy priorities, and broader public interest considerations.” This was a conference which the organisers said had taken them months to plan and finetune with government officials. However, observers said the conference was abruptly cancelled because there are many civil rights activists billed to participate at the conference coming from Taiwan. Taipei was the host of the conference in 2025 while the venue in Lusaka was said to have been built and donated by China which protested at the attendance of Taiwanese delegates! Beijing has continuously claimed that Taiwan, a democracy is a province of China.

When the President Lai’s visit was cancelled, the Taiwanese government had described the action as “unexpected and without prior notice”. But in a surprising move on Saturday, May 2, 2026, it was widely reported that President Lai had landed in Eswatini. The trip was a diplomatic victory for a country that has been under intense pressure from Beijing by trying to muscle it out of existence and from any engagement with the wider world.

In quick reaction to the visit, China immediately resorted to its fabled “Dollar Diplomacy” by scrapping tariffs for all African countries, except Eswatini! The Chinese government has always frowned at President Lai’s actions to engage with the world and Africa. It had previously described him and his party Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as a “troublemaker” and a “destroyer of cross-strait peace”.

But President Lai in a statement on his X handle faulted what he described as China’s “coercive actions.” According to him, the action has “exposed the risks authoritarian regimes pose to the international order. No number of threats or coercion will shake Taiwan’s resolve to engage with the world.”

In another posting on the social media, President Lai wrote: “Taiwan will never be deterred by external pressures. Our resolve and commitment are underpinned by the understanding that Taiwan will continue to engage with the world – no matter the challenges faced.” He thanked Eswatini for “standing firm against various diplomatic and economic pressure, speaking out for Taiwan’s international place through concrete actions. I hope this trip will contribute to even deeper friendship between Taiwan and Eswatini, thanks to closer economic, agricultural, cultural and educational links, as well as promote Taiwan’s international co-operation.”

In the meantime, the House Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States in a post on X said they “stood with Taiwan against this blatant coercion,” while Senator Ted Cruz also criticised the action of the three countries, saying they seemed “determined to ally with the Chinese Communist Party.”

The implications of the visit for Africa

While the controversy rages, analysts pondering on the implications of the visit to Eswatini on other countries in Africa. Prof Sabella Abidde of the Alabama State University, Montogomery, United States of America is of the opinion that, “President Lai’s visit to Eswatini is significant on many fronts, the least of which is his strong commitment, respect, and appreciation for His Majesty King Mswati III and the great people of Eswatini. As was the case with former President Tsai Ing-wen, President Lai is committed to the well-being and prosperity of her diplomatic allies. The visit is also an indication that – not minding China’s undue interference and high-handed diplomatic tactics – much of the world sees Taiwan as a reliable partner and a force for good.”

According to the University don, who has written extensively on Asia, Taiwan and African relations, the attempt by China to stop the trip by prevailing on the three countries to cancel the over flight permission was an attempt to “curtail the autonomy of countries.” He said, “Indeed, there are many lessons to be learned. First, China should stop taking Africa for granted; it should stop acting as though it owns the continent. Second, China should stop dictating to African governments on how to conduct their internal and external affairs.” He warned that Beijing’s assistance to states and societies on the continent does not mean it should curtail the autonomy of countries like Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar.

He averred that “No one should assume that Taiwan is powerless and can therefore be shoved around. Taiwan is not a political and diplomatic orphan; Taipei has a widening and deepening global support that will become more evident within a decade or so.”

In the meantime, Nigeria and Taiwan may be working toward strengthening ties even though they have no diplomatic relations yet. Receiving the Taiwan Head of Mission to Nigeria, Andy Yih-Pin Liu at the Aso Villa, Abuja on August 1, 2025, the First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu praised the enthusiasm of both countries to scale up trade and cultural relations.

A statement by Busola Kukoyi, Senior Special Assistant Media to the First Lady, said Senator Tinubu invited members of the diplomatic community to enjoy the richness of Nigeria’s culture, fashion, cuisine and tradition. The visit to the First Lady is viewed as a tacit move to learn more from the small island nation and one of the big Asian Tigers. Mrs Tinubu emphasized that Nigeria’s rich culture and fashion have remained unrivaled as the nation possesses a rich and diverse scope of these.

The statement added that, “Welcoming the Chief of Mission back to Nigeria after his first stint in 1993, Senator Oluremi Tinubu praised the enthusiasm of both countries to scale up trade and cultural relations.

“The Chief of Taiwan’s Mission to Nigeria, Andy Yin-Ping Liu explained that Taiwan has renewed its willingness to collaborate with President Bola Tinubu, in achieving his desire to turn the nation’s Southeast into a technological and industrial hub, dubbed ‘Taiwan of Africa’.

“He said even without formal diplomatic relations between Nigeria and Taiwan, the two countries have leveraged a Memorandum of Understanding, signed in 1990 to facilitate trade exchange, which stood at about 400 million dollars at the end of the first quarter of year 2024.”

President Tinubu as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had in his campaign in November 2022, promised to turn the South East to Taiwan of Africa. According to him, “I will engage the leaders of the South-east in a heart-to-heart discussion on all issues agitating their minds. If elected, I will address all issues and policies that tend to hinder their commerce and enterprise. I will work with businessmen and women and encourage them to make the South-east the Taiwan of Africa.”

Also, Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State had in March 2026, during his swearing in for a second term toed the line of President Tinubu by promising to turn to reality the dream of turning the Southeast to the Taiwan of Africa.

The Taiwanese envoy Andy during the visit to the First Lady perhaps with these at the back of his mind, told her that his country is eager to expand the trade volume between the two countries especially in health, education and technology. He added that Taiwan with no natural resources, intends to leverage its advantage in modern technology and education to acquire deeper partnerships with Nigeria.

But why is Africa dilly dallying with having full diplomatic relations with Taiwan? Prof Abidde is of the view that “Many African governments are illiberal, and their presidents are politically illegitimate and are afraid of taking on China (the new global hegemon). Many are heavily dependent on handouts from China, forgetting that Taiwan can better help them develop their economies, institutions, and infrastructure. No one is asking African governments to expel China. No, oh no! But the fact is that Africa is large enough for a ‘Two China’ policy — large enough for both Chinas and all those wishing to engage Africa meaningfully.” He is of the strong opinion that both countries should engage with African countries as they deem fit and proper without any of them breathing down the neck of the other.

On a way out for African countries to escape from the yoke of China taking into cognizance the fact that Taiwan has its expertise in technology and the world’s biggest manufacturer of semiconductor, Prof Abidde counselled,  “First, African governments and much of the international community must admit that they misread the 1971 UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, which recognized the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole representative of China to the UN. This misreading partly led to the adoption of the ‘One China’ policy. Second, African governments must accept that Taiwan has long ago met all the requirements for Statehood and should therefore accord Taiwan full diplomatic recognition. For the last two or more decades, Taiwan has been a strong supporter of many African governments, providing various forms of development assistance – especially in education and international trade. They benefit greatly from Taiwan, but do not want to codify the relationship?”

However, it is viewed, President Lai as Maya Angelou wrote in one of her poems has flown to Eswatini and back to Taiwan like “A free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream till the current ends.” Africa must be free to choose her friends and work for closer economic, agricultural, cultural and educational links as Taiwan seeks to deepen its friendship and promote international cooperation without been hindered.

• Dr. Oyegbile, an award-winning journalist, and media scholar is a Fellow of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD).