(Bloomberg) — Just months after Oliver Liao commenced his role as Taiwan’s de facto ambassador in Pretoria, South Africa initiated measures to downgrade its relationship with Taiwan, placing him at the center of a geopolitical conflict.
Having severed formal ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing decades earlier, South Africa now sought to further dilute its connections with Taiwan, reflecting the increasing pressure faced by the island on the global stage. In April 2022, a formal notice arrived designating a move of Liao’s office from the capital to Johannesburg, bringing an end to five decades of representation in South Africa’s political heart.
Taiwan rejected this decision. In response, South Africa’s government utilized bureaucratic means to alter its official website, updating the office’s address, erasing all references to Liao, and incorrectly listing the names of Taiwanese staff members, including at least one who had passed away.
“They included names of staff members who have already passed away,” Liao remarked in a recent interview. “Wow.”
This dispute exemplifies the precarious position Taiwan finds itself in amidst a reshaped world order, particularly after US actions under the Trump administration. As a global spending increase in artificial intelligence has bolstered Taiwan’s critical supply chain position, nations that do not formally recognize Taipei have become increasingly hostile as they deepen ties with China, the world’s second-largest economy.
Over the past ten years, countries such as Burkina Faso, Kiribati, and Honduras have severed diplomatic ties with Taipei. However, according to Liao, with the exception of Nigeria in 2017, Taiwan has maintained representation in these nations’ capitals, making his ongoing struggle in South Africa even more significant.
Liao’s residence spans 7,000 square meters, roughly the size of a soccer field, featuring tennis courts and a dining area that accommodates over 40 guests. The entrance showcases a tropical fish tank, while the garden includes a barbecue area and a jacaranda tree beginning to bloom during the South African spring.
Speaking from his home in Pretoria’s Waterkloof Ridge, a diplomatic area housing several other ambassadors, including the US and India, Liao acknowledged the considerable influence of China’s government.
“Why bother to make such a move? I think it’s very clear,” Liao stated regarding South Africa’s decision. “Common sense tells us who’s behind the scenes.”
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) in South Africa did not respond to requests for comment. Minister Ronald Lamola described the decision as aligned with international norms.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun refrained from directly addressing whether Beijing pressured South Africa to downgrade the liaison office during a briefing on September 24, but he praised South Africa’s “abiding commitment to the One China principle,” which recognizes Taiwan and mainland China as a single entity governed by Beijing.
The conflict commenced in early 2023 when Dirco annulled a 1997 agreement established by former President Nelson Mandela, which, according to Taiwan, allowed it to maintain its liaison office name and location in Pretoria. Instead, the agency sought to downgrade Liao’s office and relocate it to Johannesburg—about 35 miles away—where Taiwan already operates a small trade mission.
Taiwan has resisted these changes, extending the relocation deadline from October 2024 to March 2023. Ultimately, on July 21, Dirco issued a notice unilaterally altering the office’s name to the Taipei Commercial Office and retroactively dated the change to March 31.
“Abandoning the existing agreement is literally a denial of Madiba’s wisdom given that the existing agreement was so delicately and wisely crafted,” Liao said, referencing Mandela’s clan name. “They made significant effort to forge that agreement to preserve friendship and collaboration.”
The current relationship is deteriorating. On September 23, Taiwan imposed a ban on semiconductor chip exports to South Africa, citing Pretoria’s actions as a threat to its national and public security, only to suspend the ban two days later to facilitate further negotiations.
For Africa’s most industrialized nation, maintaining favorable relations with China increasingly comes at the expense of its ties with Taiwan. With South Africa having faced a 30% tariff on exports to the US— the highest of any sub-Saharan nation—securing demand from China has become more critical. In August, Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen emphasized the priority of increasing exports to China, which has already granted duty-free access for various fruits, supplementing existing shipments of nuts, avocados, platinum, chrome, coal, and iron ore.
These ties extend beyond trade, especially after South Africa joined the BRICS political bloc co-founded by China in 2010. President Xi Jinping is expected to attend a G20 leaders’ meeting in Johannesburg in November, marking his fifth visit to the country, and China’s navy has engaged in exercises with the South African military.
As Xi’s visit approaches, pressures on Liao to relocate his office continue to mount.
“The current situation has created a sense of not only instability but also frustration,” Liao noted, having previously served in the Solomon Islands during the period when the Pacific nation severed ties with Taipei. “It’s not healthy and not encouraging at all because the purpose of our presence here is to promote friendship and collaboration, yet everything has come to a total halt.”
The longstanding ties established during South Africa’s apartheid era, when both nations sought closer collaboration while isolated, are now at risk. The influx of Taiwanese migrants began in the late 1970s, with South Africa offering incentives to attract investments primarily in textiles. Taiwanese immigrants were granted “honorary White” status, allowing them to bypass laws enforcing racial segregation.
Currently, approximately 450 Taiwanese companies operate in South Africa with an estimated investment of around $2 billion, and over 100 South Africans receive scholarships to Taiwan each year. Nevertheless, the Taiwanese community has dwindled from 50,000 in 1998 to an estimated 8,000 today. The commercial relationship is also declining, with trade between Taiwan and South Africa falling by more than a third last year—from $2.3 billion in 2022.
“We are not welcome here,” Liao stated. If the Taiwanese no longer feel welcomed and valued, he warned, they would leave.
