Multiple Instances of Obstructed Exchanges Show Taiwan Faces Heavy Chinese Pressure in Africa, Scholar Notes
Recent incidents, including a postponed presidential visit and exclusion from international meetings, highlight China's growing pressure on Taiwan in Africa. Experts suggest Taiwan can still find diplomatic space through pragmatic cooperation.
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- 📰 Published: April 24, 2026 at 23:17
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Central News Agency (Reporter Tseng I-hsuan from Paris, 24th) - Recently, several African countries have taken unfriendly actions towards Taiwan. Besides the obstruction of President Lai Ching-te's state visit, there have also been cases of obstacles encountered in international conferences and educational or cultural exchanges. A French scholar stated that countries reliant on China are under pressure, but Taiwan can still seek room for interaction in a low-profile and pragmatic manner.
President Lai originally planned to depart on the 22nd for Taiwan's African ally, Eswatini, but the trip was postponed because Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar canceled special flight clearances. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an said the actual reason was strong pressure from the Chinese authorities through economic coercion and other means.
In recent months, there have been several instances of African nations taking unfriendly actions against Taiwan. In March this year, Cameroon, which hosted the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference, marked the Taiwanese delegation's nationality column with a belittling name, forcing Taiwan to be absent for the first time.
Even in culturally and educationally non-politically sensitive areas, there are traces to be found.
Earlier this week, the city government of Dakar, the capital of Senegal, announced the opening of public applications for scholarships provided by Taipei City. The next day, it claimed the announcement was a mistake and therefore "invalid," abruptly reiterating Senegal's diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in a statement.
In November last year, Taiwanese director Tsao Shih-han's work "Southern Time" was originally shortlisted for the Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM) in Morocco. Suddenly removed from the list right before departure, the Moroccan government also refused to issue visas and screening permits for unknown reasons.
Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a researcher at the French think tank "Asia Centre," told the Central News Agency that African countries are indeed under pressure due to their structural dependence on China.
He said, "We don't know whether it was direct pressure (from China) or if they (referring to African countries) made the decisions themselves," but those countries that rely economically and diplomatically on China realize they must be cautious when it comes to Taiwan issues.
Taking Taiwan's forced absence from the WTO Ministerial Conference as an example, Cabestan stated that Taiwan joined the WTO under the "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu." "This is the official name and it should be used," however, Cameroon chose not to use it, which is "unbelievable."
He believes this shows that "Beijing is doing everything it can to incorporate Taiwan into China," and the pressure on Taiwan is clearly greater than before.
However, Cabestan also noted that Taiwan can still find development space in Africa in a low-profile and pragmatic way, especially in more democratic countries.
Taiwan has only one diplomatic ally in Africa, Eswatini, and has set up representative offices in only a few countries. Still, it is committed to cooperation-oriented approaches, making friends with other African nations in areas such as talent cultivation, agriculture, information security, and media exchange.
For instance, the International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) has regular cooperation programs with Eswatini, Somaliland, and Tanzania. It also dispatches short-term volunteers to Uganda and Kenya, and collaborates with the non-profit organization "World Vegetable Center" to help African countries enhance their vegetable production capacity.
In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently invited a group of Nigerian journalists to visit Taiwan to share experiences in dealing with disinformation and fraud through media exchanges. (Editor: Chen Yen-chun) 1150424
President Lai originally planned to depart on the 22nd for Taiwan's African ally, Eswatini, but the trip was postponed because Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar canceled special flight clearances. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an said the actual reason was strong pressure from the Chinese authorities through economic coercion and other means.
In recent months, there have been several instances of African nations taking unfriendly actions against Taiwan. In March this year, Cameroon, which hosted the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference, marked the Taiwanese delegation's nationality column with a belittling name, forcing Taiwan to be absent for the first time.
Even in culturally and educationally non-politically sensitive areas, there are traces to be found.
Earlier this week, the city government of Dakar, the capital of Senegal, announced the opening of public applications for scholarships provided by Taipei City. The next day, it claimed the announcement was a mistake and therefore "invalid," abruptly reiterating Senegal's diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in a statement.
In November last year, Taiwanese director Tsao Shih-han's work "Southern Time" was originally shortlisted for the Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM) in Morocco. Suddenly removed from the list right before departure, the Moroccan government also refused to issue visas and screening permits for unknown reasons.
Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a researcher at the French think tank "Asia Centre," told the Central News Agency that African countries are indeed under pressure due to their structural dependence on China.
He said, "We don't know whether it was direct pressure (from China) or if they (referring to African countries) made the decisions themselves," but those countries that rely economically and diplomatically on China realize they must be cautious when it comes to Taiwan issues.
Taking Taiwan's forced absence from the WTO Ministerial Conference as an example, Cabestan stated that Taiwan joined the WTO under the "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu." "This is the official name and it should be used," however, Cameroon chose not to use it, which is "unbelievable."
He believes this shows that "Beijing is doing everything it can to incorporate Taiwan into China," and the pressure on Taiwan is clearly greater than before.
However, Cabestan also noted that Taiwan can still find development space in Africa in a low-profile and pragmatic way, especially in more democratic countries.
Taiwan has only one diplomatic ally in Africa, Eswatini, and has set up representative offices in only a few countries. Still, it is committed to cooperation-oriented approaches, making friends with other African nations in areas such as talent cultivation, agriculture, information security, and media exchange.
For instance, the International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) has regular cooperation programs with Eswatini, Somaliland, and Tanzania. It also dispatches short-term volunteers to Uganda and Kenya, and collaborates with the non-profit organization "World Vegetable Center" to help African countries enhance their vegetable production capacity.
In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently invited a group of Nigerian journalists to visit Taiwan to share experiences in dealing with disinformation and fraud through media exchanges. (Editor: Chen Yen-chun) 1150424