tái wān台湾zǒng tǒng总统lài qīng dé赖清德qǔ xiāo取消chū fǎng出访，fēi zhōu非洲“zuì hòu最后yī kuài一块pīn tú拼图”shòu受guān zhù关注
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te had originally planned to travel to the African country Eswatini on April 22, but he suddenly announced the cancellation of the trip the day before departure.
This news drew widespread attention.
Eswatini is Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa.
Over the past 30 years, 10 African countries have chosen to break off diplomatic ties with Taiwan and establish diplomatic relations with Beijing instead.
For this reason, many people call Eswatini Taiwan’s “last piece of the puzzle” in Africa.
Lai had originally planned to visit the country to attend celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of the Eswatini king’s accession to the throne.
However, on the eve of departure, the itinerary changed unexpectedly.
The Taiwan government said that some of the countries the plane needed to pass through had originally granted flight permission, but it was suddenly revoked at the last moment.
To protect the safety of the head of state and the visiting delegation, Taiwan decided to “postpone” the trip and instead send a special envoy to attend the event.
Taiwanese officials believe that Beijing was applying pressure behind the scenes and using economic means to influence other countries so that Taiwan’s plane would not be allowed to pass through.
Experts say this is an unprecedented move that can be described as an “air blockade,” aimed at further isolating Taiwan internationally.
At present, Taiwan’s number of diplomatic allies has fallen to 12, a historic low.
This incident once again shows the huge diplomatic pressure Taiwan is facing.
As the international situation keeps changing, Taiwan will face more challenges in maintaining relations with these countries.