The Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) has issued a strong condemnation of the planned visit by the separatist leader of Taiwan to the celebration of King Mswati III’s 40 years of absolute rule this coming April.
A statement issued by party General Secretary Thokozane Kunene on behalf of the Central Committee notes that: “This visit is not an innocent diplomatic engagement, but a calculated political act designed to reinforce imperialist influence, legitimise dictatorship, and deepen the exploitation of the Swazi people.”
It adds: “The CPS reaffirms its principled position that there is only one China. Taiwan is not an independent country, but a province of China that became separated following the victory of the Chinese Revolution in 1949, which decisively defeated the reactionary regime of Chiang Kai-shek.”
The statement notes: “In Swaziland, the role of Taiwanese separatist forces has been deeply harmful and reactionary. Their presence has not contributed to genuine development or the upliftment of the people. Instead, it has entrenched systems of economic domination. Through financial arrangements and so-called ‘aid’, they have subjected the Swazi people to unsustainable debt burdens while facilitating land dispossession and evictions that strip communities of their livelihoods and dignity.”
The CPS further condemns the role of Taiwanese-linked capital in the textile sector, where Swazi workers — particularly women — are subjected to ruthless exploitation. Workers endure poverty wages that cannot sustain a decent standard of living while facing degrading and abusive working conditions. Reports of sexual harassment and gender-based violence expose the brutal reality of capitalist exploitation under foreign ownership.
“The CPS calls upon workers, youth, women, and all oppressed people of Swaziland to reject this visit in the strongest possible terms.”
Swaziland (or Eswatini as it was officially renamed in 2018) is Africa’s only absolute monarchy and also the only African state to still reject diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in favour of maintaining official ties with the authorities on Taiwan in violation of the one China principle. The CPS was founded in 2011 and works under repressive conditions of illegality.
The following article was originally published on the party’s website.
The Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) unequivocally rejects the planned visit of Taiwanese separatist leader Lai Ching-te to Swaziland during the celebration of Mswati III’s 40 years of absolute rule this coming April. This visit is not an innocent diplomatic engagement, but a calculated political act designed to reinforce imperialist influence, legitimize dictatorship, and deepen the exploitation of the Swazi people.
The CPS reaffirms its principled position that there is only one China. Taiwan is not an independent country, but a province of China that became separated following the victory of the Chinese Revolution in 1949, which decisively defeated the reactionary regime of Chiang Kai-shek — a regime that had long collaborated with Western imperialism to suppress and exploit the Chinese masses. The current Taiwanese separatist leadership continues in this legacy of collaboration, acting as an instrument of imperialist interests in the global arena.
In Swaziland, the role of Taiwanese separatist forces has been deeply harmful and reactionary. Their presence has not contributed to genuine development or the upliftment of the people. Instead, it has entrenched systems of economic domination. Through financial arrangements and so-called “aid,” they have subjected the Swazi people to unsustainable debt burdens while facilitating land dispossession and evictions that strip communities of their livelihoods and dignity.
The CPS further condemns the role of Taiwanese-linked capital in the textile sector, where Swazi workers — particularly women — are subjected to ruthless exploitation. Workers endure poverty wages that cannot sustain a decent standard of living while facing degrading and abusive working conditions. Reports of sexual harassment and gender-based violence expose the brutal reality of capitalist exploitation under foreign ownership. This is not development, but modern-day economic oppression.
Politically, the Taiwanese separatist regime plays a dangerous role in sustaining the absolute monarchy in Swaziland. By maintaining diplomatic and economic ties with the Tinkhundla system, they provide material and symbolic support to a regime that denies the people basic democratic rights, suppresses dissent, and blocks meaningful socio-economic transformation. Their support strengthens a parasitic system built on inequality and repression.
On the global stage, the CPS recognizes Taiwanese separatism as part of a broader imperialist strategy to undermine the emergence of a multipolar world. By aligning with Western powers, the separatist regime seeks to weaken progressive forces and delay the restructuring of global power relations in favour of oppressed nations and peoples.
In light of these realities, the CPS calls upon workers, youth, women, and all oppressed people of Swaziland to reject this visit in the strongest possible terms. The planned presence of Lai Ching-te must be met with organised resistance and mass mobilisation. The people must demonstrate, protest, and expose the reactionary nature of this alliance.
The CPS emphasizes that the struggle against Taiwanese separatist influence is inseparable from the struggle against absolute monarchy and imperialism in all its forms. The liberation of Swaziland will not come through alliances with foreign exploiters, but through the united power of the working class and oppressed masses.
Forward to people’s power!
Down with imperialism and dictatorship!
