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The Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, in partnership with Living Stories & Memories, cordially invites you to a Seminar on legality and South Africa’s foreign policy towards ROC-Taiwan.

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Background

More than 16 United Nations members consider The Republic of China (ROC)-Taiwan a sovereign state. There has not been a single day in the 70 years since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 that China has had effective control of Taiwan. Meanwhile, South Africa’s foreign policy outlook stands on its commitment to the values and ideals of Pan-Africanism, solidarity and cooperation with all peace-loving people across the globe in pursuit of shared prosperity and a just, equitable and rules-based international order. The country’s diplomacy of Ubuntu continues to place cooperation with partners as the thrust of its foreign policy endeavours above all forms of competition. South Africa strives to address its domestic imperatives as enunciated in the NDP and national interest while taking into cognisance the needs and aspirations of others. The country’s diplomatic efforts over the past two decades include conflict resolution, prevention, mediation, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Asia and the Middle East embrace relevant national priorities by strengthening bilateral cooperation with countries in Asia and the Middle East, particularly through focusing on increasing exports of South African goods and services. In 1994, President Nelson Mandela was confronted with a vexing foreign policy problem immediately upon taking power– how to balance South Africa’s formal diplomatic relations with the ROC-Taiwan a state of affairs inherited from the apartheid government – with the demand of the People’s Republic of China that it be acknowledged as the sole government of China. This public dialogue with revisit the policy shift of South Africa towards the ROC-Taiwan and shed light on the texture and timing of the Mandela administration’s China choice and reflect on Taiwan’s future.

Programme 

12:30 – 12:40 Arrival and registration
12:30 – 12:40 Arrival and registration
12:40 – 12:50 Welcome and opening remarks
12:50 – 13:05 Prof Alice Chan
13:05 – 13:30 Dr Christopher Williams, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Wits University
13:30 – 13:55 Questions and answers session
13:55  – 14:00 Vote of thanks and close

Event Information 

Date: Tuesday 23 April 2019 
Time: 12:30 – 14:00 
Venue: Room 1-56, Graduate Centre, University of Pretoria (Hatfield Campus) 

RSVP: Please confirm your attendance by sending an email to dominique.mystris@up.ac.za