Somalia Bans Entry for Taiwanese Passport Holders

TaiwanPlus News

Somalia has banned entry for Taiwanese passport holders, with Taipei accusing China of coercing other countries into isolating Taiwan diplomatically.

Transcript

00:00The African nation of Somalia has banned Taiwanese passport holders from entering the country.

00:05Taiwan says this move is part of Beijing's ongoing attempts to isolate the country from the international community.

00:11Rhys Ayers is live from our Taipei newsroom with more on this.

00:14Rhys, how is Taiwan reacting to Somalia's sudden decision?

00:20Well, Taiwan's not pleased.

00:22They've said they're protesting this decision by Somalia and asking Somalia to roll it back immediately.

00:30The Somalian government saying that they've made this decision in accordance with a UN resolution from 1971.

00:36That resolution dictates that the People's Republic of China, that's China's official name,

00:42they are the only and sole and legitimate representative of China to the United Nations in favour of Taiwan,

00:51or the ROC, the Republic of China, as Taiwan's officially known.

00:55Now, Taiwan's Foreign Affairs Ministry is saying that Somalia has actually misinterpreted that UN resolution.

01:04Taiwan is accusing China of coercing other countries

01:26to limit the freedoms of Taiwanese passport holders by doing things like putting on travel restrictions,

01:32or as we've also seen recently, also in Africa, in South Africa,

01:37China asked them to move or rename the overseas Taiwanese representative office there

01:45as a kind of form of diplomatic pressure.

01:48And it's a newer tactic by China, and it comes in addition to its attempts to poach Taiwan's few remaining diplomatic allies,

01:58of which there are only 12, Taiwan having most recently lost Nauru in 2024.

02:06So, Rhys, what does this ban and the other coercion tactics by China mean in reality for Taiwan?

02:12Well, you know, there aren't actually that many Taiwanese tourists lining up to go to Somalia,

02:21so the impact there isn't going to be too heavy.

02:24But it is considered part of China's wider grey zone warfare,

02:28which is Beijing kind of chipping away at Taiwan's sovereignty

02:32and trying to isolate it diplomatically in the international community.

02:37Often China does this by starting with maybe financial incentives for smaller countries,

02:43particularly those in Africa, where China is trying to grow its sphere of influence.

02:49But currently most countries, over 160 of them,

02:52do let Taiwanese passport holders in under preferential visa arrangements.

02:59That means essentially little to no visa application for Taiwanese citizens going there.

03:04Though that number has fallen a few in the last couple of years,

03:09after a handful of countries kind of took away those advantages,

03:13which Taiwan's foreign ministry is blaming on China, putting pressure on those countries.

03:20Still, Taiwan has one of the strongest passports in Asia,

03:24one that is much stronger than China's.

03:28Thanks, Rhys.

03:29Now, it's Rhys Ayers reporting from our newsroom here in Taipei.

03:31L' ثante isoma.

03:33That's equity esc könnten in India,

03:34and playing by Beijing嚯 Lucas.

03:37See you soon.

03:37Yes.

03:42You're welcome.

03:44There we go.

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