China Labels Lai Ching-te's Visit to Eswatini as "Sneaking In"
The Chinese government has described the visit by Taiwan’s leader Lai Ching-te to Eswatini, a country in Africa, as an act of “sneaking in” and a failure to respect the sovereignty of the nations it passed through.
“Lai Ching-te sneaked onto a foreign aircraft and deceived himself to enter Eswatini by hiding passenger information from that country. On his return flight, after the use of airspace was rejected by the relevant countries, Lai sneaked back onto the plane and forced his way through the airspace of those countries,” said spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lin Jian during a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.
Taiwan’s leader Lai Ching-te visited Eswatini, the only country in Africa that recognises Taiwan, from 2 to 4 May 2026.
Lai’s trip was originally scheduled for 22-26 April to mark the 40th anniversary of the ascension to the throne of Eswatini’s King Mswati III. The trip was postponed after Taiwan stated that Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar unilaterally revoked flight permissions for Lai’s aircraft to cross their airspace.
“The entire incident shows the world how little Lai respects the airspace and sovereignty of the relevant countries and cares about world opinion. What he did is very dangerous and outrageous,” added Lin Jian.
The fact that Lai smuggled himself in and out of the country, said Lin Jian, clearly shows that the separatism of “Taiwan independence” is merely a shady business that is unacceptable to the international community.
“His actions are nothing more than a shameful act,” Lin Jian stated.
“China strongly condemns it. Politicians in those countries need to make wise decisions and stop taking further steps down the path that is clearly wrong,” added Lin Jian.
He emphasised that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory.
“The ‘One China’ principle is an international consensus with strong and unshakable support. Efforts to achieve ‘Taiwan independence’ are a dead end because every new attempt by Lai Ching-te to advance his separatist agenda will only further restrict himself,” Lin Jian asserted firmly.
Regarding the countries passed through during Lai Ching-te’s return to Taiwan, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, and Australia, Lin Jian said that a country’s airspace is part of that country’s sovereignty.
“The relevant countries, in upholding the ‘One China’ principle, have refused to issue flight permits for Lai Ching-te’s visit. This action is fully in accordance with international law and basic norms in international relations, and fully proves that the ‘One China’ principle is the direction of history and that the separatist movement for ‘Taiwan independence’ has no support,” Lin Jian explained.
Lai is known to have met Eswatini’s Prime Minister Russell Dlamini, Queen Ntombi Tfwala, and King Mswati III in the country.
Lai also visited the site of the planned Taiwan Industrial Innovation Park (TIIP) project, aimed at helping Taiwanese businesses expand globally, connect with the African market, and create local jobs. In addition, Lai visited the Taiwan-funded International Convention Centre (ICC).
He expressed hope that more private Taiwanese companies would invest in Eswatini, in line with Taiwan’s efforts to deepen bilateral economic and trade cooperation, according to Taiwan’s government office.
Taiwan also hopes to work with Eswatini to explore the broader African market and create greater economic value.
In 2023, Tsai Ing-wen was the last former Taiwanese leader to visit Eswatini, a small landlocked country with a population of around 1.2 million people.
Eswatini, previously known as Swaziland, is one of only 12 small countries that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Currently, there are only 12 countries that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan: Belize, Guatemala, Paraguay, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Marshall Islands, Palau, Tuvalu, Eswatini, and the Vatican.