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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson’s Remarks on Taiwan Authorities’ “Postponement of Lai Ching-te’s Visit” to Eswatini

Q: It’s reported that Lai Ching-te, leader of the Taiwan authorities, has cancelled his trip to Eswatini. The Taiwan authorities said relevant countries abruptly revoked overflight clearance under pressure from the Chinese mainland. What’s the foreign ministry’s comment, and can you provide more details?

A: All African countries, with the sole exception of Eswatini, have established diplomatic ties with China. These 53 countries, together with the African Union, have adopted the Beijing Declaration at the 2024 FOCAC Summit. They have reiterated on many occasions that they firmly uphold the one-China principle, there is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and they firmly support all efforts by the Chinese government to achieve national reunification. China highly commends relevant countries’ commitment to the one-China principle, which is fully consistent with international law and basic norms governing international relations. It’s very clear that there’s no longer a so-called “ROC president” in the world anymore. Anyone who wears that false title is acting against history and will only invite disgrace upon themselves. The one-China principle is where the arc of history bends and public opinion trends, and to uphold it is the right thing to do. No one can ever stop the eventual reunification of China. The separatist attempts aimed at “Taiwan independence” are just futile and doomed to fail.

April 22, 2026

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun’s Regular Press Conference on April 22, 2026

Reuters: Taiwan said Lai Ching-te had to cancel his visit to Eswatini, as three African countries denied his overflight access. Taiwan said the countries Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar were under economic coercion from China to do so. What is China’s response to that? Did China reach out to those countries about the airspace access? And did China reach out to other African countries too?

Guo Jiakun: All African countries, with the sole exception of Eswatini, have established diplomatic ties with China. These 53 countries, together with the African Union, have adopted the Beijing Declaration at the 2024 FOCAC Summit. They have reiterated on many occasions that they firmly uphold the one-China principle, there is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and they firmly support all efforts by the Chinese government to achieve national reunification. China highly commends relevant countries’ commitment to the one-China principle, which is fully consistent with international law and basic norms governing international relations. It’s very clear that there’s no longer a so-called “ROC president” in the world anymore. Anyone who wears that false title is acting against history and will only invite disgrace upon themselves. The one-China principle is where the arc of history bends and public opinion trends, and to uphold it is the right thing to do. No one can ever stop the eventual reunification of China. The separatist attempts aimed at “Taiwan independence” are just futile and doomed to fail.

April 23, 2026

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun’s Regular Press Conference on April 23, 2026

Bloomberg: The U.S. State Department criticised China for influencing three African nations to not let Lai Ching-te fly through their airspace. Does the Foreign Ministry have a response or comment?

Guo Jiakun: There is but one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The one-China principle is a basic norm in international relations and a prevailing consensus in the world. It is where the public opinion trends and the arc of history bends, and the right thing to do. It is fully just for China to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and for relevant countries to safeguard the one-China principle. The U.S.’s irresponsible accusations are nothing but a mischaracterisation of the facts and truth. China firmly opposes it and will never accept it. China urges the U.S. to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués, stop using the Taiwan question to interfere in China’s internal affairs, stop supporting and consolidating the so-called “diplomatic allies” of the Taiwan region, and stop sending wrong signals to “Taiwan independence” separatist forces.

May 2, 2026

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson’s Remarks on Lai Ching-te’s Travel to Eswatini on its King’s Private Jet

Q: It was reported that Lai Ching-te, leader of the Taiwan region, arrived in Eswatini on May 2 on the private jet of the King of Eswatini. What is China’s comment?

A: Just hours within the Yilan earthquake, Lai Ching-te ditched the people in Taiwan who were still reeling from the disaster and sneaked onto a foreign plane to “smuggle” himself out of the island, squandering taxpayers’ money and performing a laughable stunt in front of the world. That just added yet another episode to the scandalous “Taiwan independence” separatism.

The undignified act of Lai Ching-te and his like once again proves that the one-China principle has long been a basic norm in international relations and prevailing international consensus. No matter how the DPP authorities collude with external forces and keep those people in DPP’s pay, it will always be a losing cause and nothing will ever change the fact that Taiwan is part of China. No matter how “Taiwan independence” forces try to cover up their nature or change appearance, nothing can save their reputation or help them escape the denunciation of the international community.

We urge Eswatini and some other individual countries to see where the arc of history bends and stop serving as the prop of “Taiwan independence” separatists. 

May 6, 2026

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian’s Regular Press Conference on May 6, 2026

China Daily: Lai Ching-te sneaked into Eswatini on its plane. While in Eswatini, he spoke about “diplomatic independence.” Yet the international community and people in Taiwan described his action as “thief-like” and an “international joke.” What is your response?

Lin Jian: Even though there was widespread opposition, Lai Ching-te sneaked onto a foreign plane and cheated himself into Eswatini by concealing passenger information with the country. On his return flight, after use of airspace was rejected by relevant countries, Lai again slipped onto the plane and forced his way through these countries’ skies. The whole thing showed the world how little Lai respects relevant countries’ airspace and sovereignty and cares for the opinion of the world. What he did was extremely dangerous and outrageous. The fact that he would smuggle himself in and out of the country shows exactly “Taiwan independence” separatism is just shady business and unacceptable to the international community. His act was nothing but a scandalous stunt.

Some politicians in Eswatini who are kept in Taiwan’s pay have been wrongly providing space for “Taiwan independence.” China strongly condemns it. In recent years, we’ve heard people from various sectors in so-called Taiwan’s “diplomatic allies” strongly call on their countries to grow ties with China. Which is the right thing to do? To see where the arc of history bends and follow their people’s will, or to continue serving as a political prop and keeping up the appearances for Lai Ching-te and his kind? The politicians in these countries need to come to the wise decision and stop going further down the doomed path.

There’s but one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The one-China principle is an international consensus that has solid support and is simply unshakable. The pursuit of “Taiwan independence” is a dead end and its days are numbered. Any new attempt Lai Ching-te makes to advance his separatist agenda will only box himself further in. We urge those separatists to turn back from the wrong path and mend their ways sooner rather than later.

May 7, 2026

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian’s Regular Press Conference on May 7, 2026

    EFE: Paraguay’s president Santiago Peña is right now visiting Taiwan with a delegation of business leaders, reaffirming ties between the two sides. How does China respond to this visit?

Lin Jian: The one-China principle is a basic norm in international relations and a prevailing international consensus. On the basis of this principle, a total of 183 countries have established diplomatic relations with China. We urge the Paraguayan authorities to come to the right side of history as soon as possible, and make the right decision to recognize the one-China principle and sever so-called “diplomatic ties” with the Taiwan authorities.

May 8, 2026

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian’s Regular Press Conference on May 8, 2026

Bloomberg: Honduras’ new president said his government needs to review his predecessor’s agreements with China. He also said that equipment from Huawei will be part of the review, and Honduras is in talks with the U.S. on using tech from Cisco. Does the foreign ministry have any comments on this?

Lin Jian: The report puts headline-grabbing sensationalism before journalistic ethics of reporting the truth, taking things out of context, misrepresenting facts and sowing discord. Let me stress, there is but one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. The one-China principle is a prevailing international consensus and a basic norm governing international relations. It is the political foundation and prerequisite for the development of China-Honduras ties and bilateral cooperation. There is not the slightest room for ambiguity here. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Honduras, the two sides have engaged in practical cooperation across various fields in the principle of mutual respect and equal consultation, delivering win-win outcomes that greatly benefit the two peoples and gaining popular support in both countries. Facts fully prove that upholding the one-China principle is the right choice that accords with the trend of history and our times, and serves the fundamental interests of Honduras and its people. The separatist attempts of “Taiwan independence” forces find no support and are doomed to fail.

As to the agreements between China and Honduras that you mentioned, I would like to stress that China-Honduras cooperation does not target any third party and should be free from disruptions from any third party. The legitimate and lawful rights and interests of the Chinese side must be fully respected.

    AFP: The Paraguayan president got a red carpet welcome in Taiwan today and met the Taiwanese leader. What is China’s comment?

    Lin Jian: I answered a related question yesterday. Let me reiterate, the one-China principle is a basic norm in international relations and a prevailing international consensus. On the basis of this principle, a total of 183 countries have established diplomatic relations with China. We urge the Paraguayan authorities to come to the right side of history as soon as possible, and make the right decision to recognize the one-China principle and sever so-called “diplomatic ties” with the Taiwan authorities.