President Postpones Visit to Eswatini; Presidential Office Strongly Condemns Beijing's 'Brutal Actions'

President Lai Ching-te was originally scheduled to visit Eswatini on the 22nd. On the eve of his departure, Secretary-General to the President Pan Men-an held an emergency press conference at 6 PM, pointing out that three countries, including Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar, had cancelled flight permits for the presidential plane without warning or cause, leading to the postponement of the President's visit. In response to these latest developments, the Presidential Office held a press conference in the evening, attended by Pan Men-an, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu, and Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu. Pan Men-an read a statement from the Presidential Office, strongly condemning the brutal actions of the Beijing authorities. The statement noted that these actions not only impact flight safety and violate international norms and conventions but also constitute blatant interference in another country's internal affairs, undermining the regional status quo and hurting the feelings of the Taiwanese people. Pan Men-an stated that although the visit is postponed, the President has appointed a special envoy to attend Eswatini's national celebrations. It is understood that the actual reason for the sudden cancellation of flight permits by the three countries was intense pressure, including economic coercion, from Chinese authorities. The statement emphasized that such behavior—using coercion to force third countries to change their sovereign decisions—is unprecedented internationally. This year marks the 58th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Eswatini. Eswatini has a series of celebrations from April 24th to 26th for King Mswati III's 40th anniversary of accession and his 58th birthday. President Lai had expected to achieve goals of 'Security Co-prosperity, Economic Co-prosperity, and Digital Co-prosperity' during this visit.