Africa – The People’s Republic’s exclusive playground?

  • Yejoo Kim

Abstract

The President of Republic of China (ROC, hereafter Taiwan), Ma Ying-jeou, recently wrapped up his state visit to the country‟s so-called African allies, Burkina Faso, the Gambia and Swaziland. On the African continent, Taiwan has maintained diplomatic relations with four countries: the three countries mentioned above and São Tomé and Príncipe. This state visit was aimed at reaffirming the relations, however São Tomé and Príncipe cancelled President Ma‟s visit at the last minute, and considering that this kind of high level visit is organised in advance, the incident stirred up concerns over the further erosion of the Taiwan‟s diplomatic standing on the continent. Will the continent be Mainland China‟s exclusive playground?