President Lai Postpones Eswatini Visit; Green Camp Legislators Hope for Cross-Party Unity to Condemn China
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's postponed visit to Eswatini sparked discussion. DPP legislators called for cross-party unity to condemn China's economic coercion and interference in Taiwan's diplomatic activities.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 21, 2026 at 20:12
- 🔍 Collected: April 21, 2026 at 20:32 (20 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 22, 2026 at 01:02 (4h 30m after Collected)
Central News Agency (Taipei, April 21st) – President Lai Ching-te's postponement of his visit to Eswatini has sparked discussion. Chen Pei-yu, Deputy Secretary-General of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislative Caucus, stated today that Chinese President Xi Jinping deliberately used economic power to force other countries to change their decisions, extending political pressure outwards. DPP Legislators Chen Kuan-ting and Lin Chu-yin respectively called for cross-party unity to jointly condemn China.
President Lai was originally scheduled to visit diplomatic ally Eswatini from April 22nd to 27th. The Presidential Office held an impromptu press conference tonight, where Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an stated that three countries on the presidential plane's flight path – Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar – had temporarily cancelled their flight permits. After careful consideration of the safety of the head of state and the delegation, the decision was made to postpone the trip. President Lai will instead appoint a special envoy to attend Eswatini's dual celebrations.
In response, Chen Pei-yu posted on Facebook, stating that the originally normal visit was ultimately forced to be postponed due to clear Chinese interference, where they pressured transit countries to temporarily cancel flight permits. This is a deliberate manipulation, with Xi Jinping intentionally using economic power to force other nations to change their decisions, extending political pressure far afield.
Chen Pei-yu pointed out that such actions by the Chinese Communist Party constitute interference in other countries' sovereignty through economic coercion, even using flight safety as leverage. Such practices are both brutal and dangerous. If even safety can be exchanged, what remains of international rules?
Chen Kuan-ting, convenor of the Legislative Yuan's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee and a DPP legislator, posted in a media group, strongly condemning the CCP for using economic coercion and other means to force third countries to cancel flight permits for Taiwan's special plane. He called for cross-party unity to jointly condemn these actions and urged international partners to seriously address the CCP's continuous suppression of Taiwan's international space.
DPP Legislator Lin Chu-yin stated that the Republic of China is a sovereign and independent nation, and a head of state visiting diplomatic allies is a normal diplomatic function. Yet China repeatedly pressures third countries, obstructing Taiwan's normal exchanges with its allies. This is a barbaric act that violates international norms and interferes in other countries' internal affairs. Faced with China's arbitrary suppression, disruption of regional harmony, and infringement of sovereignty, all political parties should unite to condemn it.
DPP Legislator Lai Ruey-lung said that the CCP's brutal actions of interfering with international diplomatic exchanges and disregarding flight safety are infuriating and unacceptable to the international community. Furthermore, he expressed his strongest condemnation of Beijing's methods of undermining regional peace and hoped that the public would continue to unite, allowing the world to see Taiwan's determination to uphold democracy and freedom and engage with the world. (Edited by Yang Lan-hsuan) 1150421
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President Lai was originally scheduled to visit diplomatic ally Eswatini from April 22nd to 27th. The Presidential Office held an impromptu press conference tonight, where Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an stated that three countries on the presidential plane's flight path – Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar – had temporarily cancelled their flight permits. After careful consideration of the safety of the head of state and the delegation, the decision was made to postpone the trip. President Lai will instead appoint a special envoy to attend Eswatini's dual celebrations.
In response, Chen Pei-yu posted on Facebook, stating that the originally normal visit was ultimately forced to be postponed due to clear Chinese interference, where they pressured transit countries to temporarily cancel flight permits. This is a deliberate manipulation, with Xi Jinping intentionally using economic power to force other nations to change their decisions, extending political pressure far afield.
Chen Pei-yu pointed out that such actions by the Chinese Communist Party constitute interference in other countries' sovereignty through economic coercion, even using flight safety as leverage. Such practices are both brutal and dangerous. If even safety can be exchanged, what remains of international rules?
Chen Kuan-ting, convenor of the Legislative Yuan's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee and a DPP legislator, posted in a media group, strongly condemning the CCP for using economic coercion and other means to force third countries to cancel flight permits for Taiwan's special plane. He called for cross-party unity to jointly condemn these actions and urged international partners to seriously address the CCP's continuous suppression of Taiwan's international space.
DPP Legislator Lin Chu-yin stated that the Republic of China is a sovereign and independent nation, and a head of state visiting diplomatic allies is a normal diplomatic function. Yet China repeatedly pressures third countries, obstructing Taiwan's normal exchanges with its allies. This is a barbaric act that violates international norms and interferes in other countries' internal affairs. Faced with China's arbitrary suppression, disruption of regional harmony, and infringement of sovereignty, all political parties should unite to condemn it.
DPP Legislator Lai Ruey-lung said that the CCP's brutal actions of interfering with international diplomatic exchanges and disregarding flight safety are infuriating and unacceptable to the international community. Furthermore, he expressed his strongest condemnation of Beijing's methods of undermining regional peace and hoped that the public would continue to unite, allowing the world to see Taiwan's determination to uphold democracy and freedom and engage with the world. (Edited by Yang Lan-hsuan) 1150421
Choose to stand with the facts; every sponsorship you provide helps safeguard press freedom.
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Text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.