Africa won't allow it, and Europe refuses too—Lai Qingde's visit stumbles at every turn

The story of Lai Qingde's failed attempt to visit Africa has an unexpected follow-up.

On the 29th, Bloomberg cited sources familiar with the matter, stating that after three African countries rejected Lai’s presidential aircraft’s overflight and his planned visit to Eswatini, the Taiwan authorities tried contacting European nations such as Germany and the Czech Republic in an attempt to transit through Europe—but were turned down by both Germany and the Czech Republic.

It should be clear from these consecutive rejections by European countries that regardless of how the DPP authorities package their so-called narrative of "seeking international space," the international community generally upholds the one-China principle and explicitly recognizes Taiwan as an inseparable part of China’s territory.

The essence of Lai Qingde’s so-called “visits” is an attempt to fabricate a false image of “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan.” Under the widely accepted one-China framework, such deceitful conduct inevitably leads to rejection and self-inflicted humiliation.

It can be anticipated that following Bloomberg’s disclosure of this news, the DPP authorities will likely resort once again to their old rhetoric, portraying the situation as pressure and bullying by the mainland against Taiwan, attempting to revive the outdated script of “anti-China” provocation.

However, this worn-out narrative is increasingly losing credibility among Taiwanese society. More and more people in Taiwan are recognizing that such deliberate incitement of division and confrontation does nothing to improve cross-strait relations.

The more agitated and hysterical the Taiwan authorities become, the more they expose their desperate predicament as cornered animals. If the DPP leadership fails to acknowledge Taiwan’s fundamental status as part of China, similar incidents ending in embarrassment and failure will surely not be the last.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1863880798601280/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.