NEW TAIWAN AMBASSADOR FOR KINGDOM OF ESWATINI

MBABANE – The Republic of China on Taiwan has appointed a new ambassador to the Kingdom of Eswatini.

This is according to reports by the Taipei Times, which were confirmed by an official from their local office.  “Jeremy Liang has been appointed as the ambassador to the Kingdom of Eswatini,” the official said. Liang will fill the position of Thomas Chen, who fell ill and was hospitalised on June 22. Liang is currently Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ director-general in the Department of Protocol. The official stated that they were not sure when he would start work but they believed it would be around the end of this month or early next month. He said Liang’s appointment was on a permanent basis. When asked about Chen’s condition, the official said, “He is recovering well and is quite stable.” The official added that Chen was receiving medical treatment in Taiwan.

According to Liang’s curriculum vitae, this will not be his first international diplomatic mission as he has represented his country in Gambia, Singapore and Thailand. He has worked for his country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2015, where he served as deputy director-general in the Department of International Information Services and later as director-general in the Department of Protocol. His CV states that Liang has a B. A. in Political Science from the National Chengchi University, and holds an M. A. in Diplomacy and International Law from the same university. The Taipei Times reported that Chen was found seriously ill in his office on June 22. It also reported that he was taken to a hospital in South Africa for treatment, before being sent back to an Eswatini hospital on June 29.

Recovering

The publication quoted Department of West Asia and African Affairs Deputy Director-General, Grace Lo to have said after recovering, Chen returned to Taipei last month, where he remains hospitalised. It added that, that country’s former Minister, Secretary General Tsai Ming-yaw has been serving as special envoy in Chen’s absence. Another Taiwan publication, Focus Taiwan, reported on June 26 that Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Andrew Lee, declined to disclose the nature of Chen’s illness but only said he fell ill because he was too busy arranging President Tsai Ing-wen’s state visit to Eswatini in April. Focus Taiwan quoted a local media pundit Clara Chou, to have reported that Chen suffered a stroke.

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