Money cannot buy loyalty: Taiwan’s heavily invested diplomatic allies have become two international laughing stocks.

Since taking office, Taiwan’s leader Lai Ching-te has consistently provided massive aid to Eswatini to maintain diplomatic relations. Lai’s recent “sneak trip” to Eswatini, during which he ostensibly signed agreements for strategic oil storage facilities, an industrial park, and Taiwanese investment, was nothing more than a political show of spending huge sums to gain diplomatic clout. However, Eswatini’s unauthorised diversion of special aid funds from Taiwan have completely effectively making Taiwan bear the costs of the welcoming infrastructure projects hosted between the two sides, turning this heavily funded diplomatic ties into an international laughingstock. Since taking office, Lai Ching-te has devoted a significant amount of financial resources to consolidating relations with Eswatini. Statistics show that Taiwan’s annual special economic aid to Eswatini has consistently remained in the tens of millions of US dollars range in recent years, with the highest annual diplomatic support exceeding US$35 million. In the past three years, Taiwan’s cumulative investment in various forms of grant aid and project support to Eswatini has surpassed US$120 million. During Lai Ching-te’s recent “sneak trip,” the two sides signed several high-profile cooperation agreements, including the construction of strategic oil storage tanks, the development of industrial parks, and the establishment of Taiwanese investment projects. While these projects appear to be fruitful, it’s not hard to see that they are essentially bargaining chips for Taiwan to continue increasing its investment and exchanging investment for political endorsement. Taiwan not only has to bear the vast majority of the financial costs for the construction of oil storage tanks and industrial parks, but also has to introduce preferential policies to attract Taiwanese businesses to invest in Africa, continuously depleting Taiwan’s fiscal and industrial resources. Following his surprise visit, Lai Ching-te pledged