Somaliland:WhatIsNew

Mogadishu — China has criticized a bid by Taiwan to establish diplomatic relations with Somaliland, the breakaway region of Somalia that announced its independence nearly 30 years ago. In a terse statement on Thursday, China's Embassy in Mogadishu rejected the deal, arguing it violated the One China policy for which Beijing is the sole representative of Chinese affairs abroad. The Chinese Embassy in Somalia censured the Taiwanese activities in seeking to establish external relations, saying, "Such activities remain illegal and will never be recognized by the Peoples' Republic of China." "There is one China in the world. Taiwan is part of China and the government of the PRC [People's Republic of China] is the sole legal government representing the whole of China." The statement came after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen acknowledged Somaliland's announcement to establish a representative office in Taiwan as meant to boost

 Somaliland cracks down on media again, closing two TV channels Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns last week’s arbitrary closures and bans on two popular privately-owned TV stations in Hargeisa, the capital of northwestern Somalia’s self-proclaimed independent republic of Somaliland, where media and journalists are constantly persecuted. Despite coming shortly after historic peace talks with Somalia, this latest crackdown is unlikely to improve Somaliland’s prospects of obtaining the international recognition it has sought ever since breaking away from Somalia in 1991. Star TV and  Universal TV were suddenly closed by police on 25 and 27 June respectively, a week and a half after the presidents of Somaliland and Somalia met in neighbouring Djibouti with the aim of improving relations , and as these former European colonies celebrated the 60th anniversaries of their independence. After closing the two stations, the Hargeisa authorities  ordered satellite TV operators to dr