Taiwan lost this Thursday (9) one of the few countries that recognized the island as a country. Amid rising tensions with the United States, Nicaragua has announced that it is leaving the select group of 15 states that have full diplomatic relations with Taiwan and will begin recognizing the Communist Party of China as the legitimate government of the Asian country.
Now, only Swaziland, in Africa, maintains full diplomatic relations with the government in Taiwan; Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau and Tuvalu in Oceania; Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Neves, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, in the Americas; and the Vatican.
“The People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government that represents all of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory,” the Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “The government of the Republic of Nicaragua is now severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan and ceasing any contact or official relationship,” said the regime led by dictator Daniel Ortega.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry deplored the decision and said the country “has always been a loyal and trusted friend of Nicaragua” and that the island has the right to maintain diplomatic relations with other countries.
The issue is complex and dates back to the rise of the Communist Party, which has ruled mainland China since 1949, when it founded the People’s Republic of China after winning the civil war against the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party).​ Defeated, the nationalists fled to Taiwan and the issue to date has never really been resolved: officially, the Taiwanese government still refers to itself as the Republic of China and as the legitimate holder of command of the Asian country.
But most of the world sees it differently. Since 1971, the UN has recognized the People’s Republic of China as the country’s legitimate representative, which has triggered a series of legitimizations around the world within the diplomatic doctrine known as “one China”, which says that there is only one legitimate government in China and that or countries maintain relations with the Communist Party or maintain relations with the Taiwan government.
Brazil, for example, has official relations with the People’s Republic of China, commanded by the Chinese Communist Party, since 1974. Even the United States, China’s main adversaries on the global stage, have maintained official relations since 1979, albeit tense, only with the Chinese Communist Party.
Despite the general recognition of the People’s Republic of China as the legitimate representative of the country, there are Taiwan offices around the world, such as in Brazil, which act as unofficial embassies and consulates and represent the interests of the government.
Taiwan has been complaining that the Chinese Communist Party is putting pressure on the few countries that recognize the island’s government to change this understanding, such as Paraguay, which has received offers of vaccines against Covid-19 produced by China.
Honduran president-elect Xiomara Castro, on the left, also spoke of breaking with Taiwan and recognizing only the communist government.
Beijing and Taipei are at one of the most tense moments in recent history, with the regime led by Xi Jinping repeating that it intends to annex the island, which now effectively has an independent government. The United States sides with the Taiwanese, and President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said last Tuesday that the country “will take all possible measures, both dissuasive and diplomatic” to ensure that that invasion never takes place.
The US government’s stance is also behind Nicaragua’s change in strategy. This is because the Biden government has advanced over the Ortega dictatorship, re-elected for the fourth term in a election with most of the opponents imprisoned. On Thursday, US Undersecretary of State Emily Mendrala said the country will use “all tools” to promote democracy in the Central American country, including “sanctions to those who participate in the undemocratic actions of the regime” of Ortega.
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