Taiwan's Foreign Minister James Huang was forced to cancel his mission to Malawi at the 11th hour following inability of President Bingu wa Mutharika to receive him, officials said.
"Mutharika is on holiday and cannot meet the Taiwanese envoy," Malawian foreign affairs secretary Ben Mbewe told reporters in Lilongwe, the administrative capital, late Thursday.
"We were informed too late when the programme for the president (Mutharika) who is on leave had already been made," Mbewe said.
Mutharika has been busy fulfilling local engagements.
Huang left Taipei late Wednesday amid reports that rival China is seeking to attract the southern African nation as a diplomatic ally with hefty financial aid.
Huang was flying to Malawi "to make his best efforts to cement the 41-year Taiwan-Malawi relations," said Taiwan foreign ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh.
Eliot Chiang, an official at the Taiwanese embassy in Lilongwe, was quoted by local media as confirming the cancellation of Huang's mission, saying Taiwan did not want to disturb Mutharika's holiday.
Mutharika often pledges his support for Taiwan's bid to join the United Nations and other world bodies and Malawi is one of the dozen or so countries which recognise Taipei instead of Beijing as the capital of China.
Beijing still regards Tawain as part of its territory awaiting reunification, despite their split in 1949 after a civil war, and has repeatedly blocked Tapei's controversial bid to apply for UN membership.
Africa is one of the main diplomatic battlegrounds for the cross-strait rivals, which have accused each other of luring allies away with "chequebook diplomacy."
Only 24 countries now recognise Taipei instead of Beijing.
No comments:
Post a Comment