The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) says it has diplomatically engaged Taiwan to move its Pretoria-based Taipei Liaison Office to the City of Johannesburg, as South Africa does not recognise Taiwan as a bona fide State.
IOL reported last month that President Cyril Ramaphosa, during his two-pronged visit to the Republic of China reiterated that the Government of National Unity (GNU) formed after the May 29 general elections in South Africa does not “dilute” Pretoria’s stance on the One-China Policy.
Ramaphosa said he has assured Chinese President Xi Jinping that Pretoria will continue to adhere to Pretoria’s long-held position which assets that there is only one sovereign State under the name China, with the People’s Republic of China serving as the sole legitimate government, “and Taiwan and other regions as inalienable territories of China”.
On Friday, Dirco issued a statement bemoaning “mischaracterisation” of its engagements with the Taipei Liaison Office based in Hatfield, Pretoria.
“South Africa’s democratic government severed political and diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1997. This is consistent with resolution 2758 of the United Nations General Assembly, which is widely adhered to by the international community,” said Dirco spokesperson Chrispin Phiri.
“Relocating what will be rebranded as trade offices both in Taipei and in Johannesburg, which is standard diplomatic practice, will be a true reflection of the non-political and non-diplomatic nature of the relationship between the Republic of South Africa and Taiwan.”
Phiri said the trade office of Taiwan will be “appropriately” placed in Johannesburg, which is South Africa’s economic hub.
“This also aligns with standard diplomatic practice that capital cities are the seats of foreign embassies and high commissions,” he said.
The South African government has also indicated that there has been some level of interference by certain unnamed “third-party countries”, as Pretoria insists on moving the Taiwan offices to Joburg.
“Several engagements have been held with the Taipei Liaison Office to correct this anomaly despite approaches by third-party countries, which is itself an unusual diplomatic practice,” said Phiri.
He said the Taipei Liaison Office was given a “reasonable” six months to make the move out of Pretoria.
“The same was communicated via the South African Liaison Office (SALO) in Taipei by South Africa’s representative to the territory,” said Phiri.
Most African nations, except for neighbouring Eswatini, ascribe to the One-China policy.
Since 2009, China has been South Africa’s largest trading partner, which has resulted in increased business interactions between the two countries.
For the past 15 years in a row, China has been the largest trading partner not only for South Africa, but also for the Africa continent. On the other hand, South Africa has now been China’s largest trading partner in Africa for 14 years straight.
In the first half of this year, China imported US$17.3 billion of goods from South Africa, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%.
More than 200 Chinese companies have invested or started businesses in South Africa, creating over 400,000 local jobs.
IOL