TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A pro-Taiwan provincial leader in the Solomon Islands has lost his job after a vote of no-confidence.

Daniel Suidani, a long-time critic of his country’s relationship with China, has increasingly called for his province to declare independence following the country’s diplomatic switch from Taiwan to China in 2021.

On Tuesday (Feb. 7), he was removed from his position as the Premier of Malaita, the Solomon Islands’ largest province, after 17 provincial assembly members unanimously passed a vote of no-confidence against him.

Following the vote, police fired teargas at a crowd of more than 100 Suidani supporters who attempted to break a cordon in the town of Auki, according to ABC Australia. Controversy over Taiwan and China caused violence in the country in 2021, when anti-China rioters caused the deaths of three civilians and lit multiple buildings on fire in the capital Honiara, including in Chinatown.

Suidani has reportedly maintained contact with the Taiwan government despite the 2021 diplomatic switch, and has previously traveled to Taiwan to access healthcare.

Mihai Sora of Australian think tank the Lowy Institute noted that tensions between Suidani and the Solomon Islands’ government go back many years, preceding the Tawian-China diplomatic switch. He said the vote of no-confidence removes a “vocal critic” of the current prime minister, but may also increase internal divisions in the country, according to Loop PNG.