Taiwan leader makes delayed visit to Eswatini after China objections

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Saturday announced his arrival in Eswatini, Taipei's only diplomatic ally in Africa, after an earlier trip was cancelled when several countries revoked overflight permits.



Those various African nations withdrew overflight permission following "intense pressure" from Beijing, one of Lai's closest advisers said at the time, forcing cancellation of the initially scheduled April 22-26 trip.



Lai on Saturday said only that his initial visit had been "suspended due to unexpected external forces".



But "after days of secret arrangements by the diplomatic and national security teams, we arrived successfully today," he said in a Facebook post.



Earlier Saturday, China's foreign ministry accused Lai of making a "stowaway-style escape farce" that made him "an international laughing stock".