Source: Republic of China Taiwan
MOFA response to false claims by South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Lamola
Date：2025-08-28
Data Source：Department of West Asian and African Affairs
August 28, 2025
During a media briefing on August 27, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola made the false claims that Taiwan’s representative offices around the globe are situated in commercial cities, that no Taiwanese representative office existed in Washington, DC, and that the act of unilaterally compelling the relocation of Taiwan’s representative office in South Africa was therefore part of a global phenomenon in line with UN protocols and the Vienna Convention. These claims were intended to justify South Africa’s unilateral abandonment of a 1997 bilateral agreement that would downgrade Taiwan’s representative office by renaming it the “Taipei Commercial Office” and wrongly force the office to move.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) strongly refutes Minister Lamola’s claims, which not only contradicted reality but also highlighted South Africa’s grave lack of knowledge and misunderstanding of the international situation.
When Taiwan has established a representative office anywhere in the world, the office has been established in the capital city in accordance with both international norms and bilateral agreements signed with the host country. In the United States, for example, in addition to the operation of Taiwan’s representative office in Washington, DC, local exchanges are promoted by 12 other offices spread across the nation.
MOFA strongly urges Minister Lamola to recognize Taiwan’s interactions with other countries, stop spreading false information that may mislead the international community, return to a position of rationality and reality, and engage in negotiations with Taiwan on an equal and respectful footing.
At present, Taiwan’s representative office in South Africa is maintaining normal operations in the capital of Pretoria and continues to provide necessary services to its nationals, including businesspeople and overseas compatriots.