Taiwan protests name change of unofficial embassy on South African government website

Taiwan has protested over the change of name of the island's representative office on a South African government website amid mounting pressure from China.

South Africa's department of international relations and cooperation renamed Taiwan's unofficial embassy from "Taipei Liaison Office" to the "Taipei Commercial Office" on its website, the self-governed island's foreign ministry said on Sunday.

The ministry claimed the office was placed under "international organisations represented in South Africa" instead of an individual entity.

The name change appears to be South Africa’s bid to please China as it tries to cosy up to Beijing following a diplomatic spat with the US under the Donald Trump administration.

South Africa set a deadline of the end of March for Taiwan to change the name of its representative office and relocate the unofficial embassy outside the capital Pretoria. The South African government has sought to downgrade the de facto embassy and recategorise it as a "trade office" based in Johannesburg.

Taiwan at that time claimed the demand "shows China's suppression" against the island and pressure on South Africa to adhere to "One-China policy" was "becoming more serious".

China considers Taiwan a part of its sovereignty and has not ruled out “reuniting” with it by force if necessary despite its split from the mainland in 1949.

Taiwan has lodged protests through its representative office in Pretoria and South Africa's representative office in Taipei, the foreign ministry said. It argued that South Africa's use of “one China” policy to force the office's relocation is “unreasonable, unjustifiable, and unacceptable".

South Africa severed official diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1997, but allowed Taipei to maintain a symbolic presence through a liaison office in the capital. Taiwan only has formal diplomatic ties with 12 countries, and in Africa it only has a single ally left, Eswatini, which is almost surrounded by South Africa.

Several African nations, including Liberia, Chad, Senegal and Gambia, have severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan over the past decades.

Moving the Taiwan office out of Pretoria “will be a true reflection of the non-political and non-diplomatic nature of the relationship between the Republic of South Africa and Taiwan”, the South African foreign ministry had said in February.

Taiwanese foreign minister Lin Chia-long responded saying his government in retaliation would consider closing South Africa’s liaison office in Taiwan, cutting off a major channel for travel, trade and educational exchange.

China is South Africa's largest trading partner and the nation is looking to expand relations in areas of renewable energy. Both nations are members of the Brics bloc of developing economies.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning earlier said “we appreciate South Africa’s correct decision to relocate the Taipei liaison office in South Africa out of its administrative capital". Mr Mao claimed "Taiwan independence is unpopular and doomed to failure".

China last month reassured South Africa that Beijing will remain a "trustworthy and reliable" friend and partner as the US continues to single out the African nation.

"China and South Africa have always understood and supported each other, carrying out close exchanges, communication and coordination, which demonstrates the high level of bilateral relations," Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said.

The Trump administration expelled the South African ambassador Ebrahim Rasool for being what secretary of state Marco Rubio claimed "a race-baiting politician".

Mr Rubio accused Mr Rasool of being “a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates [the president of the United States] @POTUS”.

Mr Trump had already issued an executive order cutting all funding to South Africa over some of its domestic and foreign policies. The order criticised the Black-led South African government on multiple fronts, saying it is pursuing anti-white policies at home and supporting “bad actors” in the world like the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Iran.

Mr Trump falsely accused the South African government of a rights violation against white Afrikaner farmers by seizing their land through a new expropriation law.