The Taiwan question: Why China says Nigeria’s stance matters more than ever

It was a Media Salon meant for off-the-record exchange, but the message of Dong Hairong, Chancellor of the Embassy of China in Nigeria, at the China General Chamber of Commerce in Nigeria, Abuja, was direct: two recent incidents had exposed what she called a dangerous gap in understanding about the Taiwan question, and Nigeria needed to see it clearly.

Dong told the audience of journalists, academics, and business leaders that recently, two absurd incidents have taken place, “These two incidents show that the international community still lacks a clear understanding of the basic facts regarding the Taiwan question, as well as a full awareness of the deceptive propaganda of the Taiwan authorities and the nature and harms of ‘Taiwan independence’.”

What followed was a 40-minute briefing that wove history, international law, and Nigeria-China relations into a single argument: that the One-China Principle is not a slogan, but the political foundation of modern diplomacy, and that deviations from it carry consequences.

Dong began with what she described as a “sneaky transitory visit” to Eswatini by Lai Ching-te, the leader of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party administration. She said Lai and his entourage had presented gifts to the Queen Mother of Eswatini in a manner that drew public outrage back in Taiwan.

“It was a bid to expand the so-called ‘international space’ for separatist activities,” she said. “This outrageous act sparked strong public outrage in Taiwan, drawing widespread public backlash and relentless criticism from local residents.”

The second incident hit closer to home. Dong said a small group of Nigerian journalists had recently visited Taiwan and met with officials from its external affairs department. She said the Taiwan side had even “clamored to push for relocating its trade office in Nigeria back to Abuja.”

For Beijing, both moves are part of the same playbook: using symbolic visits and media engagement to create the impression of statehood where none exists. And for Dong, Abuja was the right place to push back, given Nigeria’s long-standing position on the issue.

The Historical Claim

Taiwan, the Chinese Chancellor in her first point, argued, has been part of China since ancient times, with administrative institutions established as early as the 12th century.

“Taiwan has belonged to China since time immemorial, with clear historical context and solid legal basis,” she said. “A wealth of historical records and documents chronicle the early development of Taiwan by the Chinese people.”

She traced the legal line through the 20th century: Japan seized Taiwan in 1895 after the First Sino-Japanese War; the 1943 Cairo Declaration and 1945 Potsdam Proclamation stipulated that Taiwan should be returned to China after Japan’s defeat; Japan accepted these terms in its 1945 surrender.

“This series of internationally legally binding documents confirms both legally and factually China’s recovery of Taiwan,” Dong said.

She acknowledged that after 1949, the Chinese Civil War and external interference led to a political standoff across the Taiwan Strait. But she insisted that this did not alter sovereignty.

“Although the two sides have not yet achieved full reunification, the fact that both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory has never changed. Taiwan has never been a country, was never one in the past, and will never be one in the future.”

Sovereignty and the UN

Dong’s second point centered on sovereignty, noting that the Communist Party of China won the civil war, the People’s Republic of China was proclaimed on October 1, 1949, replacing the Republic of China government as the sole legal government of China.

“This represented a change of regime while China remained unchanged as a subject of international law,” she said. “The People’s Republic of China naturally fully enjoys and exercises China’s sovereignty, including sovereignty over Taiwan.”

The international validation, Dong further argued, came in 1971 with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758. The resolution restored the PRC’s seat at the UN and expelled representatives of Chiang Kai-shek’s government.

“This resolution has explicitly established politically, legally and procedurally that there is only one seat for China in the United Nations, leaving no room for ‘two Chinas’ or ‘one China, one Taiwan’,” Dong said.

She noted that 183 countries, including Nigeria, have established diplomatic relations with Beijing on that basis.

Reunification as a Historical Mission

The third section of the envoy’s remarks focused on reunification, describing it as the “shared aspiration of all Chinese people” and a core part of China’s national rejuvenation.

The Taiwan question, she said, arose from China’s weakness in the 19th and 20th centuries, emphasising, as China grows stronger, resolution becomes inevitable.

“The ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces, led by Lai Ching-te and the Democratic Progressive Party, have aggressively promoted ‘de-Sinicization’ and ‘gradual Taiwan independence’,” she said. “They deceive the Taiwan people, disregard their destiny and the future of Taiwan, bring grave disasters to the island, and endanger its prospects.”

Dong reiterated that Beijing still prefers peaceful reunification under the One-China Principle, citing Xi Jinping’s “Four Persistences” outlined in an April meeting with Kuomintang chairwoman Cheng Li-wun: fostering identity, safeguarding peace, enhancing welfare through integration, and achieving rejuvenation through unity.

She also pointed to practical examples, including the evacuation of 93 Taiwan compatriots from the Middle East earlier this year with assistance from Chinese embassies. “In interviews, they expressed gratitude, saying, ‘Thank you, motherland’ and ‘The motherland is always there for us’.”

A Global Consensus, A Nigerian Commitment

Dong’s fourth and fifth points brought the argument back to Nigeria on the One-China Principle, stressing, “is now a universal norm.”

“At present, a total of 183 countries, including Nigeria, have established and developed diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the one-China principle,” she said.

She reviewed Nigeria’s record: the 1971 communiqué recognizing the PRC as the sole legal government of China, and the 2024 joint statement during President Bola Tinubu’s state visit to China reaffirming opposition to “Taiwan independence.”

This political foundation, she said, has enabled concrete cooperation. She cited the handover of the ECOWAS headquarters in Abuja, built with Chinese assistance, and China’s zero-tariff policy for 53 African countries, including Nigeria, which took effect on May 1.

Featured Nigerian exports like sesame, ginger, cashew nuts, and cocoa can now enter China more easily, provided they meet origin and quarantine rules. “Nigerian enterprises can also upgrade quality standards and strengthen brand building through exports to China, further enhancing the international image of ‘Made in Nigeria’,” Dong said.

A Warning to the Media

The final section of Dong’s address was directed at the press, urging Nigerian journalists to “see through the political tricks and hypocritical ploys of the Democratic Progressive Party authorities in Taiwan” and avoid reporting that refers to Taiwan as a “country” or uses titles like “Taiwanese Ambassador to Nigeria.”

She framed the choice in economic terms. China’s annual trade with Nigeria exceeds $28 billion and comes with zero-tariff access. Taiwan’s trade with Nigeria is about $1.6 billion.

“The relative importance and pros and cons are self-evident,” she said. “If individual Nigerian journalists insist on becoming clowns for the Taiwan authorities to hype separatist issues and deliberately collude with their separatist attempts, they must soberly weigh the serious negative impacts and potential consequences.”

Nigerian Voices Weigh In

Dong’s remarks were followed by interventions from Nigerian scholars who backed her position.

In his remarks, Prof. Sam Amadi, Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts and Dean of the Law Faculty at Ave Maria University, offered a distinction between the One-China Principle and the One-China Policy.

“Everybody who has been in foreign policy knows the One-China principle, One-China policy is clear, but difficult to operationalize,” Amadi said.

He explained that Beijing’s position rests on three pillars: There is only one China; the sovereign authority of that one China is the Chinese Communist Party; and the ultimate goal is peaceful reunification of Taiwan and mainland China under the legal authority of the CCP.

Amadi noted that while the principle and policy “look the same, they’re not exactly the same,” pointing to differences in how states interpret and apply the framework in practice.

Prof. Muktar Imam while expressing his view, said the One-China Principle rests on “unassailable pillars of history and existential reality.” He cited Resolution 2758 as “definitive, unequivocal and unambiguous,” noting that 186 of 198 UN members uphold the policy. In Africa, he said, only Eswatini had not aligned with the consensus.

“The local figure-head of the aberration of Taiwan ‘Separatism’ is Mr. Lai Ching-te and his circle in the Democratic People’s Party,” Imam said. “Increasingly isolated, and gradually cut off from the mainstream of even the local political sentiments in the Island, have become very desperate.”[they]

Prof. Sheriff Ghali Ibrahim, Provost of the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria and head of Contemporary China-Africa Research, called Lai’s visit to Eswatini “trepidatory in nature, abnormal in diplomatic practice and erratic in international relations.”

“It has been described as ‘theft-like visit’ primarily due to its secretive nature,” he said. “It is an aberration to the peace of Westphalia, which established international relations and diplomatic engagement between and among sovereign states.”

Another speaker, Dr. Otumba Segun Showunmi, a public affairs analyst, argued that the China-Nigeria relationship is built on a “carefully cultivated diplomatic philosophy anchored on the One-China Principle.”

“The One-China Principle therefore represents more than a diplomatic formula,” Showunmi said. “It has become the foundation of a broader geopolitical partnership between two nations seeking relevance and strategic leverage within an evolving world order.”

Why Abuja Matters

The timing of the Media Salon is significant. Nigeria and China mark 55 years of diplomatic relations in 2026, and bilateral trade, infrastructure projects, and cultural exchanges have deepened since President Tinubu’s 2024 visit to Beijing.

For China, keeping Nigeria firmly within the One-China framework is both diplomatic and practical. Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy and a leading voice in ECOWAS and the AU. A shift in its position would carry weight beyond West Africa.

For Nigeria, the calculation is economic and strategic. Chinese investment in infrastructure, manufacturing, and trade access offers tangible benefits. The zero-tariff policy and ECOWAS headquarters project are recent examples.

But the issue also touches on sovereignty and non-interference, principles that have long shaped Nigeria’s foreign policy.

As Dong put it: “China sincerely expects all sectors of Nigerian society to always firmly abide by the one-China principle and resolutely uphold China’s core interests and territorial integrity.”

In Abuja’s diplomatic corridors and newsrooms, the Taiwan question is no longer an abstract foreign policy debate. It is a test of how Nigeria interprets its partnerships, its history, and its place in a changing world order.