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As China's footprint grows, Taiwan wants to keep its few formal allies close while deepening informal links with world.
The first to go was the Solomon Islands, which broke with Taiwan on September 16 ending a 36-year diplomatic relationship.
Four days later, it was Kiribati. The Pacific island nation had established diplomatic relations with Taipei in 2003.
Both countries were wooed by China with offers of development aid and assistance.
"If we give up now, Taiwan's future generations will lose their sovereignty, their freedom, and their democracy; we will lose everything."
In all, seven countries have severed ties with Taiwan since Tsai, of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), came to office three years ago. It now has formal diplomatic relations with just 15 nations, including the Vatican.
Some 70 years after China's nationalists fled the mainland to establish their capital in Taipei, the diplomatic tide has now almost completely turned in favour of the communist-led government in Beijing.
Shaohua Hu, professor in government and politics at New York's Wagner College and author of the 2017 book Foreign Policies towards Taiwan, noted that China's efforts to pick off Taiwan's political allies was a political strategy.
(Score: 2) by loonycyborg on Sunday September 29 2019, @01:48PM (3 children)
What exactly you mean as independence? To me it's purely something that is formalized with diplomatic treaties. Taiwan definitely doesn't fit this definition of independence. There are other meanings of this word but there are many of them. In modern world everyone are interdependent to some degree.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday September 29 2019, @10:15PM (2 children)
Sorry, this is pretty obvious. Just look at the government functions of Taiwan and China and what areas those functions apply. Neither government obtains tax revenue, mandates laws and regulation, manages basic government functions like property ownership, etc in the other. That makes them independent.
This diplomatic treaty says [wikipedia.org] otherwise. It's backed by force of law in Taiwan.
And diplomatic treaties are rather irrelevant without teeth. The above treaty doesn't have that problem.
Sure, we could use your contrived definition of independence. It is valid and relatively well-defined as such things go. But what would be the point?
(Score: 2) by loonycyborg on Monday September 30 2019, @01:02AM (1 child)
That's the whole point, Taiwan is entirely without teeth. It's nothing more than a social experiment. Kuomintang failed due to them being assholes. And US preserved them only because they thought they're their assholes. And given relative lack of worldwide acceptance of Taiwan I feel justified in having little respect for them. No more than to average school's mock student council. If they disagree with me then they can feel free to shoot me like their other political opponents..
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday September 30 2019, @04:07AM
Trying breaking their laws on their turf.