Taiwan's foreign ministry stated that the South African government's request for Taiwan's representative office to leave Pretoria, despite ongoing discussions, indicates that China has intensified its suppression of Taiwan.
"We will continue to communicate with the South African government based on the principles of equality and respect," Taiwan's ministry said in a statement.
Taiwan's ministry mentioned that since October of the previous year, it has been in contact and collaborating to ascertain South Africa's position on the future of their bilateral relations through diplomatic channels.
According to the Taipei Times, the South African government sought to reclassify the Taipei Liaison Office in South Africa as a Business Office and asked the staff to leave Pretoria by the end of next month, as stated in a letter released late last month. The ministry reported that the Chinese government has recently prohibited Ivan Mayer, leader of the Democratic Alliance, South Africa's second-largest party, from visiting Taiwan.
Although negotiations with Taiwan are ongoing, the South African government's repeated demands for the representative office to vacate the capital within a specified period indicate that China's pressure on Taiwan has intensified in South Africa.
"Taiwan's stance on rejecting unilateral breaches of bilateral agreements by the South African government remains firm, and the country will persist in maintaining the principles of reciprocity and dignity in its communications with the South African government," the ministry was quoted as saying by the Taipei Times.