South Africa downgrades Taiwan’s representative office as it deepens ties with Beijing

Name: William Lai vows to protect Taiwan security and industry in speech marking year as leader
Uploaded: 2025-05-24T05:00:08.000Z
Duration: 1 min 33 s
Description: William Lai vows to protect Taiwan security and industry in speech marking year as leader

South Africa’s decision to remove Taiwan’s diplomatic status and move its office from Pretoria to Johannesburg is viewed as a nod to Beijing

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South Africa has ordered Taiwan’s representative office to move from Pretoria to Johannesburg. Photo: AFP

Jevans Nyabiage

Published: 1:00pm, 24 May 2025Updated: 8:01pm, 24 May 2025

South Africa has modified the official listing for Taiwan’s representative office on its government website, removing references to its diplomatic status and renaming it the “Taipei Commercial Office”.

The office, maintained since Nelson Mandela’s administration cut formal ties with Taipei in 1998, has also been relocated from the country’s administrative capital of Pretoria to the commercial hub of Johannesburg, according to the website of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

However, Taiwanese foreign minister Lin Chia-lung said in a briefing last week that the office remained in Pretoria.

Meanwhile, Somalia has banned the entry, exit or transit of Taiwanese passport holders, an action seen as retaliation for Taiwan’s growing ties with the breakaway region of Somaliland.

Taiwan’s only official diplomatic ally in Africa is eSwatini, and only a limited number of countries host commercial or trade offices for the island. Experts said Taiwan’s diminishing presence on the continent underscored a deepening alignment between African nations and Beijing, driven by their robust economic ties.

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William Lai vows to protect Taiwan security and industry in speech marking year as leader

Emmanuel Matambo, research director at the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Africa-China Studies, noted that Beijing had been very forthright and forceful about prying African recognition from Taiwan.

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South Africa downgrades Taiwan’s representative office as it deepens ties with Beijing

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}South Africa’s decision to remove Taiwan’s diplomatic status and move its office from Pretoria to Johannesburg is viewed as a nod to Beijing

South Africa’s decision to remove Taiwan’s diplomatic status and move its office from Pretoria to Johannesburg is viewed as a nod to Beijing