Taiwan FM resigns after Burkina Faso cuts ties

TAIPEI: Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu Thursday tendered his resignation after Burkina Faso announced it was breaking diplomatic ties with the island.

“As a government official, I must be responsible for policies, and I have verbally tendered my resignation to the president,” Wu told a press conference.Wu added that Taipei was cutting relations with Burkina Faso “to safeguard our sovereignty and dignity” and halting bilateral aid and cooperation programmes.

Burkina Faso is the second country to dump Taiwan within weeks after after Dominican Republic switched recognition to Beijing earlier this month, leaving the island with only 18 diplomatic allies around the world.The move also left Taiwan with only one ally in Africa — eSwatini (formerly Swaziland). It was the fourth ally Taiwan lost since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016.

It was not immediately clear if Burkina Faso and China would establish diplomatic relations but Wu said it would only be “sooner or later” and that “everyone knows China is the only factor”.“Why China chose now to steal our ally, everyone can see although we couldn’t go into the WHA (World Health Assembly), but we are developing deeper relations with more and more like-minded countries. I believe China can see this,” he said.