Somalia Bans Entry for Taiwanese Passport Holders

Somalia has banned entry for Taiwanese passport holders, with Taipei accusing China of coercing other countries into isolating Taiwan diplomatically.

Transcript

00:00The African nation of Somalia has banned Taiwanese passport holders from entering the country.

00:05Taiwan says this move is part of Beijing's ongoing attempts to isolate the country from the international community.

00:11Rhys Ayers is live from our Taipei newsroom with more on this.

00:14Rhys, how is Taiwan reacting to Somalia's sudden decision?

00:20Well, Taiwan's not pleased.

00:22They've said they're protesting this decision by Somalia and asking Somalia to roll it back immediately.

00:30The Somalian government saying that they've made this decision in accordance with a UN resolution from 1971.

00:36That resolution dictates that the People's Republic of China, that's China's official name,

00:42they are the only and sole and legitimate representative of China to the United Nations in favour of Taiwan,

00:51or the ROC, the Republic of China, as Taiwan's officially known.

00:55Now, Taiwan's Foreign Affairs Ministry is saying that Somalia has actually misinterpreted that UN resolution.

01:04Taiwan is accusing China of coercing other countries

01:26to limit the freedoms of Taiwanese passport holders by doing things like putting on travel restrictions,

01:32or as we've also seen recently, also in Africa, in South Africa,

01:37China asked them to move or rename the overseas Taiwanese representative office there

01:45as a kind of form of diplomatic pressure.

01:48And it's a newer tactic by China, and it comes in addition to its attempts to poach Taiwan's few remaining diplomatic allies,

01:58of which there are only 12, Taiwan having most recently lost Nauru in 2024.

02:06So, Rhys, what does this ban and the other coercion tactics by China mean in reality for Taiwan?

02:12Well, you know, there aren't actually that many Taiwanese tourists lining up to go to Somalia,

02:21so the impact there isn't going to be too heavy.

02:24But it is considered part of China's wider grey zone warfare,

02:28which is Beijing kind of chipping away at Taiwan's sovereignty

02:32and trying to isolate it diplomatically in the international community.

02:37Often China does this by starting with maybe financial incentives for smaller countries,

02:43particularly those in Africa, where China is trying to grow its sphere of influence.

02:49But currently most countries, over 160 of them,

02:52do let Taiwanese passport holders in under preferential visa arrangements.

02:59That means essentially little to no visa application for Taiwanese citizens going there.

03:04Though that number has fallen a few in the last couple of years,

03:09after a handful of countries kind of took away those advantages,

03:13which Taiwan's foreign ministry is blaming on China, putting pressure on those countries.

03:20Still, Taiwan has one of the strongest passports in Asia,

03:24one that is much stronger than China's.

03:28Thanks, Rhys.

03:29Now, it's Rhys Ayers reporting from our newsroom here in Taipei.

03:31L' ثante isoma.

03:33That's equity esc könnten in India,

03:34and playing by Beijing嚯 Lucas.

03:37See you soon.

03:37Yes.

03:42You're welcome.

03:44There we go.