Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

On the afternoon of April 21, the Office of the President held a press conference regarding President Lai Ching-te's scheduled visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini, a diplomatic ally of Taiwan, during which Secretary-General to the President Pan Men-an (潘孟安) delivered an official statement.

A translation of the official statement follows:

President Lai was originally scheduled to depart on April 22 for a visit to Eswatini. However, flight permits for certain countries along the charter flight's route were abruptly canceled. Following a rigorous assessment by the national security team, in order to ensure the safety of our head of state, the delegation, and the flight itself, this visit will be postponed. The president will appoint a special envoy to attend the national celebrations in Eswatini on his behalf.

According to our understanding, three countries, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar, canceled the flight permits for the president's charter plane without prior notice or justification. The real reason behind their decisions was intense pressure from the authorities in China, including economic coercion. Using coercive tactics to force third countries to alter their sovereign decisions is without precedent in the international community. Such actions not only jeopardize aviation safety and violate international norms and conventions; they also constitute blatant interference in the internal affairs of other nations, undermine the regional status quo, and deeply offend the Taiwanese people. The government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) strongly condemns the crude and coercive actions of the authorities in Beijing.

The Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign nation. Taiwan is a Taiwan of the world, and the 23 million people of Taiwan have every right to engage with the world. No country has the right to obstruct Taiwan, and none will ultimately succeed in doing so. We wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to the like-minded countries that have assisted Taiwan in negotiations regarding this matter over the past few days.