Trade union independence, lutsango & Taiwanese president's visit: Dispatches from Swaziland
- The Left Chapter
- 9 minutes ago
- 6 min read
The Communist Party of Swaziland on separatist Taiwanese President's visit to Swaziland in April to celebrate Mswati's 40 years of absolute reign, the need for Workers to be Vigilant amidst destructive effort by tinkhundla as unions mobilise for Conferences in 2026 and the so called lutsango holiday decreed by Mswati and his absolute monarchy.
Saturday, 21 March 2026:
The Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) unequivocally rejects the planned visit of Taiwanese separatist leader Lai Ching-te to Swaziland during the celebration of tyranny Mswati III's 40 years of absolute rule this coming April. This visit is not an innocent diplomatic engagement, but a calculated political act designed to reinforce imperialist influence, legitimize dictatorship, and deepen the exploitation of the Swazi people.
The CPS reaffirms its principled position that there is only one China. Taiwan is not an independent country, but a province of China that became separated following the victory of the Chinese Revolution in 1949, which decisively defeated the reactionary regime of Chiang Kai-shek, a regime that had long collaborated with Western imperialism to suppress and exploit the Chinese masses. The current Taiwanese separatist leadership continues in this legacy of collaboration, acting as an instrument of imperialist interests in the global arena.
In Swaziland, the role of Taiwanese separatist forces has been deeply harmful and reactionary. Their presence has not contributed to genuine development or the upliftment of the people. Instead, it has entrenched institutions of economic domination. Through financial arrangements and so-called “aid,” they have subjected the Swazi people to unsustainable debt burdens, while facilitating land dispossession and evictions that strip communities of their livelihoods and dignity.
The CPS further condemns the role of Taiwanese-linked capital in the textile sector, where Swazi workers, particularly women, are subjected to ruthless exploitation. These workers endure poverty wages that cannot sustain a decent standard of living, while facing degrading and abusive working conditions. Reports of sexual harassment and gender-based violence within these workplaces expose the brutal reality of capitalist exploitation under foreign ownership. This is not development, rather it is modern-day economic oppression.
Politically, the Taiwanese separatist regime plays a dangerous role in sustaining the absolute monarchy in Swaziland. By maintaining diplomatic and economic ties with the Tinkhundla system, they provide material and symbolic support to a regime that denies the people basic democratic rights, suppresses dissent, and blocks meaningful socio economic transformation. Their support strengthens a parasitic system that thrives on inequality, repression, and the silencing of the masses.
On the global stage, the CPS recognizes Taiwanese separatism as part of a broader imperialist strategy to undermine the emergence of a multipolar world. By aligning with Western powers, the separatist regime seeks to weaken progressive forces and delay the restructuring of global power relations in favor of the oppressed nations and peoples of the world. This makes their presence in Swaziland not only a national issue, but an international one that is tied to the broader struggle against imperialism.
In light of these realities, the CPS calls upon the workers, youth, women, and all oppressed people of Swaziland to reject this visit in the strongest possible terms. The planned presence of Lai Ching-te must be met with organized resistance and mass mobilization. The people must demonstrate, protest, and expose the reactionary nature of this alliance. This visit must not proceed as a celebration, it must be confronted as a symbol of oppression and exploitation.
The CPS emphasizes that the struggle against Taiwanese separatist influence is inseparable from the struggle against absolute monarchy and imperialism in all its forms. The liberation of Swaziland will not come through alliances with foreign exploiters, but through the united power of the working class and oppressed masses. Only through organized struggle can we dismantle the Tinkhundla system, end exploitation, and build a democratic and socialist future.
Forward to people's power!
Down with imperialism and dictatorship!
Thursday, 19 March 2026:
The Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) affirms the critical importance of trade union independence and worker solidarity during the ongoing democratic processes within the trade union movement in Swaziland.
During the current period, numerous unions affiliated with the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) and TUCOSWA itself are undertaking independent democratic processes in preparation for their respective conferences. The CPS recognizes that trade union independence has demonstrated considerable effectiveness in stabilizing union organizations and enabling them to serve worker interests under the challenging conditions imposed by the semi-legal restrictions of the Mswati autocracy and its tinkhundla system.
The regime has consistently demonstrated its unwillingness to permit independent trade union operations without interference and disruption. The CPS has identified some of tactics employed by state authorities including systematic attempts to subordinate unions to regime directives through covert police operations and irregular security forces. False allegations characterizing independent unions as Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) structures to undermine their credibility, deliberate interference in democratic union processes to weaken institutional capacity. Threatening with death candidates who are seen to be aligned to workers principles than ulterior motives. Malice propaganda from institutions aligned to anti workers power.
The CPS affirms the principles of trade union independence where trade unions must remain autonomous organizations accountable solely to their membership and working class interests. Workers require theoretical capacity to strengthen class awareness and preserve unions as authentic working-class institutions and working-class solidarity where cross industry worker unity constitutes the foundation for effective resistance to oppression and exploitation.
The current wealth distribution in Swaziland reflects fundamental class contradictions where the royal family and political elites, in collaboration with foreign capital, appropriate the nation's wealth and resources whilst workers, as the primary generators of this wealth, experience systematic oppression and exploitation. This disparity necessitates structural transformation to create conditions conducive to worker welfare and equitable resource distribution.
The CPS calls upon all workers to maintain vigilance, exercise heightened awareness regarding regime interference in union democratic processes, ensure unions remain accountable to membership and working-class interests and strengthen solidarity, further recognize TUCOSWA as the central organ for mobilizing worker solidarity and coordinating resistance to oppression.
The CPS commits to providing theoretical support and capacity-building to strengthen working class consciousness and preserve the integrity of trade union organizations. The CPS further expresses its solidarity with workers engaged in these critical democratic processes and wishes them success amid persistent counter-forces seeking to undermine worker organization.
Workers of Swaziland Unite!
18 March 2026
The Communist Party of Swaziland continues to expresses its strong opposition to the recent declaration of a holiday in honor of lutsango, the royal women’s regiment. This declaration represents a significant misrepresentation of the true principles of women’s empowerment and societal transformation.
Lutsango is not an organization committed to the advancement of women; rather, it functions as a royal institution that perpetuates the subjugation of women under the absolute monarchy. The establishment of this holiday serves to glorify a cultural construct that reinforces patriarchal norms, rather than promoting genuine gender equality.
The so-called lutsango holiday stands in stark contrast to International Working Women's Day, internationally celebrated on March 8, which celebrates the struggles and achievements of women globally.
Instead of honoring women’s contributions to society and their fight for rights, this holiday trivializes their roles, reducing them to mere symbols of royal patronage.
The monarchy’s utilization of culture as a mechanism for oppression is evident in the portrayal of women during this holiday—as subservient figures, often depicted as intoxicated and objectified. This representation is a humiliation that must be denounced by all who value the dignity and rights of women.
We continue to urge the women of Swaziland to unite against this oppressive narrative and to work towards the establishment of a National Women's Movement. This movement must; mobilize women as a formidable force for transformation. Place women issues in the centre within the broader struggle for democracy, social justice and equality. Women of Swaziland must join the women of the world in honouring International Working Women's Day that recognises the vital contributions of women in the pursuit of a better world.
The Communist Party of Swaziland stands in solidarity with all women in rejecting the lutsango holiday and its implications. We call for a collective effort to dismantle the structures of tinkhundla oppression and to advocate for a future wherein women are empowered, respected, and celebrated for their invaluable contributions to society.
Down with tinkhundla regiment system
Down with the Mswati absolute monarchy
Down with women subjugation
Forward with International Working Women’s Day
Forward with March 8
Forward with the National Women’s Movement
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