Johannesburg - The South African government said a visit
to Taiwan by the mayor of an area that includes the capital, Pretoria, breached
foreign policy and was “highly regrettable".
Tshwane Mayor Solly Msimanga, from the main opposition
Democratic Alliance party, ignored advice from the Department of International
Relations and Cooperation when he travelled to Taipei, contravening South
Africa’s “One China” policy, the department said in a statement Monday.
China, South Africa’s biggest trading partner, considers
Taiwan a breakaway province and South Africa endorses the stance of the
government in Beijing that the island and the mainland are part of the same
China.
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South Africa switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in
late 1996. Msimanga became mayor after the Democratic Alliance formed
agreements with the Economic Freedom Fighters to oust the African National
Congress in Tshwane, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay following
local-government elections in August.
“Representatives of any sphere of government must ensure
that their engagements with international entities are aligned to existing
mechanisms and programs and that such relations are coordinated in a manner
that advances South Africa’s foreign policy and national interests,” the
department said in its statement.
BLOOMBERG