China Praises Nations Denying Overflight to Taiwan’s Lai Ching-Te, eSwatini Says Bilateral Relations Unchanged

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at a press conference on defence spending in Taipei, Taiwan November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Yimou Lee/File Photo
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at a press conference on defence spending in Taipei, Taiwan November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Yimou Lee/File Photo

By Ryan Woo and Ben Blanchard

China heaped praise on Wednesday on three African countries that denied overflight permission for the aircraft of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, forcing him to cancel a trip to Eswatini, while Taipei denounced their “servitude” to Beijing.

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