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BEJING\/TAIPEI, May 6 (Reuters) – China said on Wednesday Eswatini’s leaders were being “kept and fed” by Taiwan, using unusually strong language to condemn the small southern African kingdom for hosting President \u200cLai Ching-te.<\/p>\n
China and Taiwan have long traded accusations of “dollar diplomacy” to win support from developing \u200ccountries.<\/p>\n
Beijing’s latest criticism came after Lai returned home on Tuesday from a surprise trip to the former Swaziland, one of just 12 \u200bcountries with formal diplomatic ties to the democratically governed island claimed by China.<\/p>\n
Beijing views Lai as a “separatist” and has demanded that other countries refuse to deal with his government or host him.<\/p>\n
Lai’s government said China had forced three Indian Ocean nations – the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar – to deny overflight permission for his aircraft when he \u200cfirst planned to go last month \u2060for celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the accession to the throne of King Mswati III.<\/p>\n
Lai had “stowed away” to get to Eswatini, said Lin Jian, a spokesperson of \u2060China’s foreign ministry.<\/p>\n
This showed that “separatist” activities were rejected by the international community and were a “scandal and a farce”, he told reporters in Beijing.<\/p>\n
“Some politicians in Eswatini, kept and fed by Taiwan, have provided space for Taiwan independence forces \u2014 \u200bthis runs \u200bcounter to the tide of history, and China strongly \u200bcondemns it,” Lin added, using a derogatory \u200cexpression used to refer to a person being kept in servitude to another or used as a lackey.<\/p>\n
In response, Eswatini’s acting government spokeswoman Thabile Mdluli told Reuters the remarks were “deeply unfortunate and fall short of the standards expected in respectful international discourse. It is especially concerning when statements of this nature come from a country that positions itself as a responsible global actor.”<\/p>\n
“Eswatini must not be bullied and our sovereign decisions \u200cought to be respected by all,” she added.<\/p>\n
Taiwan’s government has \u200bbeen in celebratory mood after Lai made it to Eswatini and \u200bthen returned via a circuitous route skirting \u200bairspace controlled by Mauritius and Madagascar.<\/p>\n
Instead of travelling on a plane chartered from Taiwan’s \u200cChina Airlines, as originally planned in line \u200bwith usual practice, Lai flew \u200bon the king’s private A340 aircraft.<\/p>\n
The trip further deepened the friendship between Taiwan and Eswatini, Lai, who rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, told a regular weekly meeting of his Democratic Progressive Party on \u200bWednesday.<\/p>\n
Despite China’s “blockade and suppression”, Taiwan “will surely \u200cadvance steadily onto the international stage” as long as it remains unyielding and united and \u200bworks hand in hand with like-minded partners, Lai added.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Liz Lee and Ben Blanchard, \u200band Lunga Masuku in Eswatini; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n