Taipei Liaison Office in South Africa

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Taipei Liaison Office in the Republic of South Africa

The Taipei Liaison Office in the Republic of South Africa acts as Taiwan’s de facto embassy in South Africa, since formal diplomatic ties were not maintained after South Africa recognized the People’s Republic of China. It was established in 1998 and operates from two offices: Pretoria and Cape Town.

It represents Taiwan’s interests in South Africa and also covers several other African countries, including Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles, Comoros, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, Eritrea, Angola, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, and Réunion.

- Pretoria office: Based in Hatfield, it serves Gauteng, Limpopo, North West, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Free State.
- Cape Town office: Serves Western Cape, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Namibia.

History and other offices:
- The Republic of China previously had an embassy in South Africa; after South Africa recognized Beijing, the Taipei Liaison Office was created in 1998.
- There were former offices in Johannesburg (Consulate-General, closed in 2009) and Durban (closed).

2024 developments:
- In October 2024, South Africa announced plans to rebrand the Taipei Liaison Office as a trade office, highlighting a non-political relationship.
- South Africa’s DIRCO now lists it as a “Taipei Commercial Office,” with a Johannesburg mailing address on record instead of Pretoria and a Telkom domain email.
- Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested, calling the move a violation of the 1997 agreement and urging consultation before any changes.