Taiwan Leader’s Last-Minute Plea to Fly Via Europe Was Rejected

Germany and the Czech Republic denied requests for Taiwan President Lai Ching-te to transit through Europe earlier this month, dooming his last-minute effort to circumvent a China-backed blockade of his first diplomatic trip to Africa, people familiar with the matter said.

Taiwanese authorities made urgent transit requests to European countries including Germany and the Czech Republic after three Beijing-friendly African nations closed their airspace to Lai’s plane and cut off his direct flight routes to Eswatini, Taiwan’s only partner on the continent, according to three officials.