TIT-FOR-TAT:The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Nigeria Trade Office in Taiwan would be forcibly relocated in response to the forced eviction of diplomats in Abuja

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 02, 2017
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter

The Nigeria Trade Office in Taiwan will be forced to relocate outside Taipei following the forced

eviction of Taiwanese diplomats from the nation’s trade mission in Nigeria’s capital, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

The Nigerian government on Friday sent 25 armed police officers to seal off the Taiwanese office and force remaining personnel to leave, the ministry said, adding that the personnel left after protesting the move.

The ministry said it had lodged a solemn protest, calling on the Nigerian government to cease taking extreme measures and immediately withdraw police to allow the case to be handled through rational discussion.

The Nigerian government in January announced during a visit by Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) that Taiwan would be forced to shut down its office in Abuja and relocate it to Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city and financial center.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Eleanor Wang (王珮玲) yesterday said there was no physical confrontation, but declined to specify what ministry personnel were doing at the site.

The trade mission was closed in April following a formal Nigerian government ultimatum on March 31, which also resulted in the withdrawal of Representative Chao Chia-pao (趙家寶).    [FULL  STORY]