The killing of Eswatini opposition politician Thulani Maseko by unknown gunmen should raise questions for Taiwan’s backing of the Eswatini monarchy, one of the world’s last absolute monarchies. Maseko’s killing came only hours after the country’s monarch, King Mswati III, threatened activists opposed to his rule...
King Mswati III visited Taiwan last month as part of the first visit to Taiwan by the monarch of Eswatini since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mswati III was a frequent visitor to Taiwan in the past, visiting on 17 other occasions...
The Tsai administration announced a donation of 637 million NT to Eswatini last week. The donation is earmarked for a fund for reconstruction work in Eswatini that will take place under the auspices of King Mswati III, following some of the largest protests to take place in Eswatini in its 53 years of independence. The donation was the largest contribution to the fund, with other donations coming from state-operated enterprises in Eswatini and the military...
Demonstrations that have rocked Eswatini in past days are among the largest protests to take place in the African country in its 53 years of independence. That being said, they have scarcely been commented on in Taiwan, despite that Eswatini is one of Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic countries—and despite the fact that such protests have strong parallels to Taiwan’s history of democratization...
Following a five-day state visit to Swaziland by Tsai Ing-Wen last week, Tsai has called for creation of an “Africa plan” to develop stronger economic and political ties between Taiwan and Africa. One suspects that, much like the Tsai administration’s “New Southbound Policy”, this would also be with the aim of weaning Taiwan off of economic dependency on China. But one generally suspects that this would encounter many of the same challenges that the New Southbound Policy has. Furthermore, one must keep in mind that, like many of Taiwan's diplomatic allies, Swaziland is a country whose government has a questionable human rights record...