Taiwan suffers another diplomatic blow as Fiji pulls the plug on representative office’s name change

Facing pressure from Beijing, Pacific island nation backtracks after agreeing in March to let Taipei mission reinstate title and diplomatic privileges

Taiwanese foreign ministry condemns mainland China for ‘belittling our sovereignty’ and voices regret over Suva’s failure to ‘uphold its position’

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Beijing wants Taiwan’s mission in Suva to keep the name Taipei Trade Office in Fiji. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:30pm, 22 Jun 2023

Just as Taiwan was celebrating a small diplomatic gain by reinstating the official title for its representative office in Fiji, the tiny Pacific island nation pulled the plug on the name change under pressure from Beijing.

The Taiwanese office in Suva was known as the Trade Mission of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Republic of Fiji and enjoyed diplomatic privileges despite the lack of an official relationship.

Then in 2018, mainland-friendly prime minister Frank Bainimarama’s government unilaterally changed the title to Taipei Trade Office in Fiji and stripped the office of its diplomatic privileges.

In March, the new Fiji coalition government, which is friendly to Taipei, allowed Taiwan to reinstate the mission’s former name and its diplomatic privileges – a move that drew sharp protests from Beijing, which established official ties with the Pacific island nation in 1975.

But on Thursday, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said Fiji’s three-party coalition government had decided to put on hold the restoration of the mission’s official title and diplomatic privileges due to intense pressure from Beijing.

“After the Fiji government decided to restore the official title of our mission, the Chinese embassy there not only protested against the move but also threatened to take retaliatory actions,” the Taiwanese ministry said in a statement.