Taiwan Protests Change of Representative Office Name on South…

Taiwan has formally protested a name change of its representative office on South Africa’s DIRCO website, renaming it from “Taipei Liaison Office” to “Taipei Commercial Office.” This shift corresponds with ongoing tensions as South Africa seeks to downgrade Taiwan’s diplomatic presence. MOFA argues the change violates prior agreements and has criticized DIRCO’s justification linked to U.N. Resolution 2758.

On March 16, 2025, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced an official protest against the South African government for unilaterally renaming Taiwan’s representative office on its Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) website. The office, previously called the “Taipei Liaison Office,” has been renamed to the “Taipei Commercial Office,” intensifying ongoing diplomatic tensions, especially following directives for Taiwan’s representatives to leave Pretoria.

MOFA claims the South African government aims to downgrade the representative office, moving it to Johannesburg and categorizing it strictly as a trade office. South Africa has imposed a deadline until the end of March for Taiwan to agree to the name change and relocation.

In a prior statement, DIRCO asserted that the new designation of neither diplomatic nor political significance reflects standard diplomatic protocols. They emphasized this rebranding creates a “true reflection of the nonpolitical and nondiplomatic nature” of the relationship between South Africa and Taiwan.

However, MOFA referenced an agreement established prior to the severing of formal diplomatic relations in 1998, which permits Taiwan to maintain a liaison office in Pretoria, asserting that no changes can occur without mutual consent and official negotiations.

In response to this situation, MOFA has formally protested through Taiwan’s office in Pretoria and directly to the South African representative office in Taipei regarding the name change. Furthermore, MOFA criticized DIRCO’s invocation of U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758 as “unreasonable and unacceptable,” pointing out that this resolution resulted in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) assuming China’s seat in the U.N., effectively sidelining the Republic of China (ROC).

Taiwan’s protest reflects ongoing diplomatic friction with South Africa, driven by the reclassification of its representative office. MOFA’s insistence on maintaining title and location stems from historical agreements, highlighting the complexities of Taiwan’s international status amid pressures from Beijing. The resolution of this dispute remains contingent on negotiations between the two governments.

Original Source: focustaiwan.tw