Burkina Faso–Taiwan relations
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Burkina Faso–Taiwan relations referred to the historical relationship between the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
(Taiwan) and Burkina Faso. Taiwan had an embassy in Ouagadougou, and Burkina Faso had an embassy in Taipei. In May 2018, Burkina Faso switched to recognize the People's Republic of China, thus ending diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The last ambassador of Burkina Faso to Taiwan, appointed in August 2017, was
Aminata Sana Congo Aminata Sana Congo (born 1974) is a Burkina Faso politician and diplomat. She was a Minister of Development of the Digital Economy and the Posts from January 2016 to February 2017. She was appointed Ambassador to Taiwan in August 2017. Career Sa ...
.


History

Burkina Faso, known as the Republic of Upper Volta prior to 1984, entered diplomatic relations with the Republic of China in 1961, the year after the country gained independence from its former colonial power, France. Relations continued for over a decade, until 15 September 1973 when the regime of Upper Volta – led by Major General
Sangoulé Lamizana Aboubakar Sangoulé Lamizana (31 January 1916 – 26 May 2005) was a Burkinabé military officer who served as the President of Upper Volta (since 1984 renamed Burkina Faso), in power from 3 January 1966, to 25 November 1980. He held the a ...
, who had come to power in a 1966 military coup – derecognized the ROC and instead opened relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC). Lamizana had been convinced by offers of aid from Zhou Enlai, totaling over $48 million through the 1980s. Relations with the People's Republic of China continued under subsequent military governments, those of Colonel Saye Zerbo, Major Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo and Captain Thomas Sankara, until several years into the administration of Blaise Compaoré, who much like his predecessors had come to power in a 1987 military coup. On 4 February 1994 President Compaoré severed relations with the PRC and instead re-established connections to Taiwan, in what was considered a surprising diplomatic move. Taipei and Ouagadougou had been entwined as sister cities on 4 December 2008. Following Burkina Faso's switch to recognizing the People's Republic of China in 2018, the mayor of Taipei, Ko Wen-je, announced the sister city relationship between the two cities would still continue. In April 2012, President Ma Ying-jeou of the ROC went on his first tour of Africa, visiting Burkina Faso and meeting with President Compaoré. During the visit Ma promised more aid in the areas of education, medical care, transportation and agriculture. He visited again in January 2014, a month before the 20-year anniversary of Burkinabé–Taiwanese relations, meeting once more with Compaoré. On 28 October, the
2014 Burkinabé uprising The 2014 Burkina Faso uprising was a series of demonstrations and riots in Burkina Faso in October 2014 that quickly spread to multiple cities. They began in response to attempts at changing the constitution to allow President Blaise Compaoré ...
broke out. In response, the ROC's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
took measures to ensure contact with all Taiwanese nationals and businesspeople in the country. All ROC diplomatic personnel were reported to be safe. After three days of protests, President Blaise Compaoré resigned and fled to the
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
, with the military taking power shortly after and designating
Isaac Zida Yacouba Isaac Zida (born 16 November 1965) is a Burkinabé military officer who briefly served as Burkina Faso's acting head of state in November 2014. He took power in the aftermath of the 2014 Burkinabé uprising, sidelining a more senior off ...
as acting head of state. ROC Minister of Foreign Affairs
David Lin Lin Yung-lo (; born 10 March 1950), also known as David Lin, is a Taiwanese politician who was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan. In 2022, he was elected as the Chairman of the Association of Foreign Relations (AFR). Early life David ...
responded by announcing that the relations between the two countries remained unchanged for the moment, and that future relations would depend on the next moves by Burkina Faso's transitional government.


Aid

Taiwan has provided ample humanitarian aid and investing much into the Burkinabé economy. For example, a Taiwanese technical mission to Burkina Faso contributes to more than 34% of the total production of rice in Burkina Faso, and the National Blaise Compaore Hospital is the first computerized general hospital in West Africa due to Taiwanese technical aid. Other aid measures include the donation of large amounts of condoms and medicines by Taiwan to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in Burkina Faso.


Termination of relations

After the termination of relations between São Tomé and Príncipe and Taiwan in 2016, Burkina Faso was one of only two states in Africa to recognize the Republic of China over the People's Republic of China, the other one being
Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
(formerly Swaziland). It was also the most populous UN member state to have fully recognized the Republic of China as the sole legitimate representative of all of China. Following the
2016 election The following elections occurred in the year 2016. Africa Benin Republic *2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 A ...
of Tsai Ing-wen as the President of Taiwan, China reinitiated a campaign to win over Taiwanese allies that had been functionally halted during the term of her more pro-China predecessor, Ma Ying-jeou. On 24 May 2018, Burkina Faso derecognized the Republic of China. Burkinabé
Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
Alpha Barry Alpha Barry (born 1 January 1970) is a Burkinabé politician and journalist. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2021. Biography Barry is born on 1 January 1970 in Ivory Coast. His birth name is Alpha Mamadou Barry. He has ...
noted the extensive developmental and economic opportunities partnership with China could bring. ROC Foreign Minister
Joseph Wu Joseph Wu Jaushieh (; born October 31, 1954) is a Taiwanese politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China under current President Tsai Ing-wen since February 26, 2018. He was formerly the Secretary-Gen ...
subsequently offered his resignation over Taiwan's failure to maintain diplomatic relations, which President Tsai Ing-wen did not accept. Within two months, China formally opened its embassy in Ouagadoudou with a ceremony presided over by Vice Premier
Hu Chunhua Hu Chunhua (; born 1 April 1963) is a Chinese politician, a former member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and a Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China in Premier Li Keqiang's Cabinet. He worked in Tibet for much of ...
.


See also

* Timeline of diplomatic relations of the Republic of China * Burkina Faso–China relations *
Foreign relations of Burkina Faso Burkina Faso has good relations with the European Union, African and certain Asian countries. France, the former colonial power, in particular, continues to provide significant aid and supports Compaoré's developing role as a regional powerbr ...
* Foreign relations of Taiwan *
Political status of Taiwan The controversy surrounding the political status of Taiwan or the Taiwan issue is a result of World War II, the second phase of the Chinese Civil War (1945–1949), and the Cold War. The basic issue hinges on who the islands of Taiwan, Peng ...


References


External links


Embassy of Burkina Faso in Taiwan

Embassy of the Republic of China in Burkina Faso

Embassy of the Republic of China in Burkina Faso
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burkina Faso-Taiwan relations Taiwan Bilateral relations of Taiwan