Die China-kwessie in Suid-Afrika se buitelandse beleid

Abstract

The Mandela government has from the outset been confronted with the dilemma of South Africa's relations with the two Chinese political entities. The new government inherited a long-standing, close and formal relationship between South Africa and the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was a partnership born and bred in the era of apartheid and South Africa's international isolation. White-ruled South Africa did not recognise the People's Republic of China (PRC) and thus had no official ties with the communist state.
The incoming government immediately committed itself to establishing formal links with the PRC, but insisted that this would not be done at the expense of existing relations with Taiwan. For over two years the South African government tried this dual approach. In November 1996 President Nelson Mandela unexpectedly announced that South Africa will shift recognition to the PRC by the end of 1997 and abandon Taiwan to the status of a non-state entity.
This article examines the reasons for President Mandela's about-turn, placing it in the context of the public debate in South Africa on the so-called China issue.