Overview
- Taiwan’s president said he arrived in Eswatini on Saturday after a postponement triggered when Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar revoked overflight rights.
- Taipei accuses Beijing of pressuring those countries to pull the permits, a claim China rejects.
- China’s Foreign Ministry called the trip a “laughable stunt,” and the Taiwan Affairs Office derided Lai as “a rat,” in sharply worded statements.
- Lai kept the plan quiet and announced it after landing, a tactic officials say reduces chances of outside interference with the flight.
- Eswatini is Taiwan’s only African ally and one of 12 states that still recognize it, and the dispute has drawn attention to how governments can use airspace permissions to limit leaders’ travel.