If overflight rights are being influenced politically, it really highlights how complex Taiwan’s situation is
50
DarkLiberator2 days ago
+67
The title is kind of strange, it was literally because of China. Just [ask those governments](https://www.reuters.com/world/china/taiwan-president-cancels-eswatini-trip-blames-chinese-pressure-african-countries-2026-04-21/):
>Seychelles' foreign affairs ministry told Reuters that the Taiwanese president's plane had not been granted clearance for overflight or landing, in line with the government's longstanding policy of not recognising Taiwan's sovereignty.
>"The decision was taken independently and in accordance with established procedures," Aline Morel, senior protocol officer at the ministry, said in an email.
>A Madagascar foreign ministry official also confirmed having denied an overflight request. "Malagasy diplomacy recognises only one China. The decision was made in full respect of Madagascar's sovereignty over its airspace," the official said.
On a sidenote, it is kind of ironic that a trip to celebrate the 40th anniversary of an authoritarian based monarchy is halted by three democracies, because they were told to do so by another authoritarian regime.
67
antifocus2 days ago
+22
It looks like the permission wasn't granted to begin with because they only recognize PRC, not because of the pressure from China later on. Poor planning from Principle Liar.
22
squarexu2 days ago
+8
It is also funny how Taiwan claims to be the beacon of Asian democracy fighting to go and celebrate the 40 th anniversary of authoritarian monarchy.
8
Nihba_2 days ago
-17
Neither Seychelles or magascar have an airforce so there's nothing much they can do about it if the Taiwanese decide to fly through their airspace
-17
fufa_fafu2 days ago
+17
That isn't how airspace laws work.
17
Nihba_2 days ago
-15
Well laws only matter if you can enforce it
-15
Striker7752 days ago
+8
Is this a "those mig17s aren't actually theirs'" situation, or am I missing something here?
8
faffc2601 day ago
+2
don't need an airplane to fire an outdated sam that will still likely hit any transport plane.
2
Ser_Charles1 day ago
+1
Well do they have anti-air?
1
WeekOwn5932 days ago
-21
"The decision was taken independently“
I don’t really trust this Email,there must be some politics included.
-21
garyvdh2 days ago
+35
Meanwhile Eswatini has a horrible human rights record...
See the Amnesty International Report on the Country.
35
Ultra_Metal2 days ago
-16
So does China.
-16
Fercaichoa2 days ago
+9
For someone who supports Israel like it's a job it's not a surprising you support this authoritarian monarchy.
9
Ultra_Metal2 days ago
-5
You're responding to the wrong comment. I never supported any authoritarian monarchs.
-5
Nerevarine912 days ago
+31
I mean, given that it was specifically because of China’s actions, that does seem like a reasonable place to lay blame
31
Impandamaster2 days ago
+37
No one to blame but himself. During his first two years he’s done nothing but provoke China for no reason. Tsai the previous president had no problems flying over.
37
ShareYourIdeaWithMe1 day ago
+3
Uh the previous president oversaw a period where many of Taiwan's allies were lost altogether. This isn't something Lai specific - it's a long term pressure campaign under China's One China Principle.
3
Impandamaster1 day ago
+3
Yes but Tsai never had issues going anywhere including USA. Tsai went to us in like the first half of presidency. Lai has yet to set foot on American soil after 2 years+. Ask urself why? Lai has made multiple aggressive statement towards China and his past being called 台獨金孫 (golden child of Taiwans independence) does not help. If ur gonna poke the bear at least have the power to back it up. Everyone here knows if China full scale invades Taiwan won’t last more than 10 days. We do not wish to become the next Ukraine
3
ShareYourIdeaWithMe1 day ago
Lmao you are grasping at straws. Lai still has plenty of time to visit the US before the end of his presidency.
What "aggressive statements" has he made towards China exactly?
His position on cross strait relations is exactly the same as Tsai: reject the 1992 consensus, seek dialogue, no need to declare independence as ROC Taiwan is already independent.
The past is the past. Did you know that the opposition leader Cheng who just visited Xi also had a past of supporting Taiwanese independence?
1. There's no poking of anyone.
2. A sovereign democratically elected leader only speaks on behalf of his people and is able to speak his mind regardless of having force to "back things up". It's called freedom of speech - something that authoritarian dictatorships do not understand.
Everyone here knows if China full scale invades Taiwan there would be 1 million PLA troops drowning in the strait.
We do not wish China to become the next Russia: start an unprovoked war of aggression that they can't finish.
0
Impandamaster13 hr ago
+2
I don’t know where u live or if ur Taiwanese or u are Taiwanese but have moved out of country already or none of the above but if u search up “賴清德挑釁中國” and only look at traditional Chinese news like yahoo news etc. u can find a lot. There’s even a lot of youtube shorts. I don’t remember all of what he said but some of the most atrocious ones are like “China can’t get past our sea mine field cuz they can’t” “China economy is weaker than Taiwan” and my fav one is when he openly said “we are better off being ruled by Japan and be part of greater east Asia co prosperity sphere during ww2. The f****** audacity to suggest that what Japan did during those times were better than what China is doing now is f****** hilarious. Also I’ve made a post talking about how horrible our energy policy is. China does not need to invade Taiwan for it to collapse all it needs to do is surround our seas for 10 days and we will run out of energy due to 80% of our electricity comes from gas\coal. This is why Lai and dpp are such a joke cuz if they were serious about war or independence at all our energy policy wouldn’t be this vulnerable.
Tsai and Lai are part of the same party and share the same agenda but Tsai has never openly provoked China like Lai has. The reason I brought up his old nickname was because that’s how he rose to power it’s in his dna. Even during his campaign just to dispel this nickname he would openly say if he’s elected he would be the most “peaceful” president . Turns out that was a giant joke. We’ve prob had more military demonstrations by China near our sea for the first two years of his presidency than what Tsai got during her 8 years of presidency. What the majority of citizen want is peace cuz independence is impossible at this point. U need to understand even tho we operate as an independent nation we are still considered part of china like east and west Germany before the wall fell. Dpp’s agenda is Taiwans independence and be recognized not as part of China but as its own nation that’s why dpp still has a solid following or else there’s no difference between dpp and kmt cuz kmt whole approach is we still operate independently but is recognized like west or east Germany. So don’t say stuff like “Taiwans already independent” if so dpp’s existence is irrelevant. Also don’t say stuff like “kmt wants reunification” no they don’t just like dpp wont declare Taiwan as its own nation, kmt will never support to be part of China.
Also current kmt leader Chang used to be dpp and now is not only tells u how bad shit has been in dpp. From corruption to scandals u name it dpp even have multiple members found that are giving intel to china. Just to add the cherry on top guess what happened to those people that gave intel to china? Imprisoned? Executed? Nah they just bailed for 1-3k usd and fled lol in a dpp run government btw.
Also u talk about how he’s elected therefore then speaks for the people. Even tho he’s the president he does not control the senate/house. Just shows u how people want to protect Taiwan but doesn’t trust dpp at all or else he would’ve won the presidential election and had control over the senate/house. Thank god he didn’t tho or else the amount of corruption he would’ve pulled off would be on par with trump.
One last thing is about how he still has time to visit us. I hate to break it to u its not happening buddy. Both previous president visited us within the first year of their presidency. It’s an open secret at this point in Taiwan that he’s trying everything to buy his way into USA but trump wouldn’t allow it and I wonder why? Is it cuz his past aggressive remarks towards China? Or is it cuz trump’s daddy is Putin? and we all know who putins big brother is.
On a final note, as a Taiwanese and someone who’s currently living here if possible I would want Taiwan to be recognized as its own nation, but with China growing ever stronger it’s impossible unless USA and maybe a couple more nations are willing to fight for Taiwan if war ever breaks out. So the best we can hope for now is things stay as is and peace.
2
ShareYourIdeaWithMe7 hr ago
+1
> where u live or if ur Taiwanese or u are Taiwanese but have moved out of country already
Who I am is irrelevant.
> but if u search up “賴清德挑釁中國” and only look at traditional Chinese news like yahoo news etc. u can find a lot
No the onus is on you to back up your point with credible references, not in me.
> China can’t get past our sea mine field cuz they can’t
That's not provocative. Sea mines are defensive not offensive. Just don't invade and you won't have to deal with them.
> China economy is weaker than Taiwan
That's not provocative either. China's economy, on a per capita basis, is weak compared to many liberal democracies including Taiwan. Taiwan's GDP per capita is almost three times China's. And China not catching up, the gap is getting wider.
> we are better off being ruled by Japan
Sounds like a misrepresentation of what he actually said. If you have a specific quote or clip in mind, provide it and it can be checked for context and accuracy.
> China does not need to invade Taiwan for it to collapse all it needs to do is surround our seas for 10 days
No government in modern history has collapsed from a blockade. It's not as easy as it seems. Taiwan would adapt. But sure personally I think Taiwan should get Nuclear back. The referendum failed but Lai seems open to it, being cognisant of the strategic impacts.
> We’ve prob had more military demonstrations by China near our sea for the first two years of his presidency than what Tsai got during her 8 years of presidency.
The military exercises started after Pelosi and have been at a pretty steady periodicity. I'm not seeing any particular uptick post Lai.
> Even tho he’s the president he does not control the senate/house.
That's ok. Balance of power in a democracy is a feature not a bug. I rather that than an unelected dictatorship.
Lai still has the right to speak his mind though, as the country's leader. My point remains unchanged.
> he’s trying everything to buy his way into USA but trump wouldn’t allow it
Pure speculation. Just need to wait and see. Like I said there's still time.
1
Impandamaster6 hr ago
+1
It matters cuz I hate foreigners thinking they know better than what actual people living here think. I’m just giving u a different perspective. I won’t reply to everything u wrote since I don’t think I’ll persuade u anyways but here’s the clip if ur interested https://youtube.com/shorts/cXTVgIYjWDs?si=a6_P1GOn2TwPtX_H on Taiwan was better off with Japan.
1
ShareYourIdeaWithMe5 hr ago
+1
> matters cuz I hate foreigners thinking
Actually it doesn't matter because none of my points are resting on my personal credibility or authority but rather are simple verifiable facts (eg. Taiwan's GDP vs China's GDP, or the fact that the exercises and the loss of allies all happened under Tsai too).
Attack the argument, not the person.
> here’s the clip
He doesn't say that they are better off being ruled by Japan lmao. The context of his speech is that Taiwan has a history of having being ruled externally - and that's why they should treasure democracy now that they have it. In supporting this argument he goes through history and discusses each foreign occupation. When he gets to Japan he adds as a side point that actually the Japanese treated the locals better than Chiang's KMT (referring to the white terror and martial law period). It's deceptive to take that and imply that he wants the Japanese to rule Taiwan again.
Also, circling back, yes Taiwan is independent already. Taiwan is just the common name for the country whose official name is the ROC. And the ROC has been an independent country since 1912.
1
[deleted]2 days ago
+14
[deleted]
14
LegitimateCopy72 days ago
not hard to guess the role model.
0
XaeiIsareth2 days ago
+5
That’s politics for you.
The easiest way to get support is to rally your supporters against some common enemy.
5
Impandamaster2 days ago
+5
Ya they use the same tactic for years only with Lai it’s gotten a lot worse. He pretty much took a page out of trumps hand book by using his position he gave certain media outlets government contracts (essentially paying them off with tax payers money)so they can brainwash voters and radicalize them. If u side with anyone but the dpp u get attacked. Anything the dpp does that is clearly wrong will be twisted as some 3d chess move or no crime has been committed at all. Sound familiar?
5
Humble-Alarm-55072 days ago
+2
He can take commercial flights to Eswatini.
2
leinschrader2 days ago
-1
Lai should blame himself for his failed domestic policy and having to resort to using international incidents as a distraction.
-1
thinkabetterworld2 days ago
+1
Lai finally getting what he deserves
1
leon_alistair2 days ago
-4
Maybe dont provoke your bigger ,much stronger, estranged brother right next door? Just when US western ally scrambles to distance themselves from the mad orange clown, idk why this 2 morons Taiwan and Japanese PM keep trying their best to appease his ego in detriment to their own benefits. There's nothing good gonna come out from aligning yourself with Trump and they're gonna pay dearly for this blunder when Trump inevitably dragged down the whole world with him.
-4
Spudtron982 days ago
+3
Taiwan's very existence as an independent state is enough to provoke the CCP.
3
Hot_Cheese6502 days ago
There’s no need to blame. It’s 100% China’s doing.
0
West-Lifeguard-34972 days ago
-12
So fat Xi just use Chinese tax money to stop Taiwan president from visiting some small country. Typical communism China
37 Comments