Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has suspended a planned visit to diplomatic ally the Kingdom of Eswatini after several countries along the presidential aircraft's flight route revoked overflight permits.The trip had been scheduled to begin April 22. The suspension was announced at an emergency press conference held by the Presidential Office on the evening of April 21.Pan Men-an (潘孟安), the Secretary-General of the Presidential Office, said Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar had canceled overflight clearance for the presidential aircraft without prior notice. He attributed the revocations to intense pressure from Chinese authorities, including economic coercion.Pan described such actions — coercing third countries to alter sovereign decisions — as virtually unprecedented in the international community. He said they not only jeopardize aviation safety and violate international norms and practices, but also constitute blatant interference in other countries’ internal affairs, undermine regional stability, and harm the feelings of the Taiwanese people.Pan said, following a careful assessment by the national security team and taking into account the safety of the head of state, delegation, and flight operations, the visit has been postponed. President Lai has instead appointed a special envoy to attend Eswatini’s “Double Celebration” national events, Pan added. He added that the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) strongly condemned what he called Beijing’s heavy-handed behavior. Pan emphasized that the Republic of China is a sovereign state, and that Taiwan belongs to the world. He said the 23 million people of Taiwan have the right to engage with the international community, and no country has the authority to block that right. He also expressed sincere gratitude to like-minded countries that have assisted Taiwan in diplomatic efforts over the past several days.