Malawi Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Taiwan

JOHANNESBURG — Malawi cut its diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the government announced on Monday, drawing a bitter response from Taiwanese officials who accused the Chinese government of luring the Malawians into its camp with $6 billion in aid and other inducements.

Malawi’s foreign minister, Joyce Banda, who made the announcement, said her nation had actually severed ties with Taiwan and set up diplomatic relations with Beijing last month; she did not say why the announcement was delayed, although it follows the landslide victory in parliamentary elections in Taiwan on Saturday for the opposition Kuomintang, which supports closer ties with China.

In Africa, only Burkina Faso, Gambia, Swaziland and Sao Tome and Principe still recognize Taiwan.

The victory for the Kuomintang, or Nationalist Party, in the Taiwanese parliamentary elections could sharply reduce the political influence of President Chen Shui-bian, who has antagonized China and frustrated the United States with his efforts to forge a strong national identity for Taiwan.

The results delivered a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s prospects of retaining power in the March 22 presidential election.

The Kuomintang, which once waged a civil war against the Communists on the mainland, now advocates maintaining the status quo between China and Taiwan without ruling out eventual reunification.

In the meantime, it supports closer economic and cultural ties with its neighbor — a stance that political analysts here said was likely to reduce tensions across the Taiwan Strait should the party win in March.