On this episode of China Uncensored,
two Chinas for the price of one!
Hi, welcome to China Uncensored,
I’m your host Chris Chappell.
And I’ve got a great idea
for all you countries out there
that need a little extra spending money.
First, establish formal diplomatic ties
with Taiwan.
This will anger mainland China.
Then, establish ties with mainland China
and agree to break off ties with Taiwan,
in exchange for millions of dollars.
That would never work, you say?
Well, just ask Panama.
A big win for China
and a major blow to Taiwan.
Beijing on Tuesday welcoming
formal ties with Panama,
after the Central American nation
ditched relations with Taipei,
saying it now only recognizes one China
and Taiwan is part of it.”
For those of you who need some background,
once upon a time,
that time being 1912,
there was a country called
the Republic of China
that was in mainland China.
But then in 1949,
the Chinese Communist Party
seized control of mainland China
and created the People’s Republic of China.
So the Republic of China government
fled to the island of Taiwan,
creating two Chinas.
Ultimately, the two sides came to an agreement
called the One China Policy.
That’s where both sides agree
there’s only one China,
they just also avoid saying
which one is the one China.
Which is all very normal
and makes total sense.
It's almost like each China
exists in its own separate reality
where they are the only China.
And then they made
the rest of the countries in the world
choose which reality
they wanted to live in.
Confusing,
but it could be worse.
There could be 52 Chinas.
But lately, the One China policy
hasn’t been working out
too well for Taiwan.
Sure, at first most countries
chose their reality.
But then in 1971,
the United Nations formally recognized
the Communist Party’s People’s Republic of China
instead of Taiwan.
And ever since,
more and more countries
have been following suit.
Panama was one of Taiwan’s oldest allies.
It’s recognized the Republic of China
since 1912—
basically from its founding.
But now Panama has found a shiny new ally.
It’s kind of like how in middle school y
ou suddenly decided that instead of
hanging out with Chris C.,
your best friend since preschool,
you were going to hang out
with that jerk Chris R.
just because he had an N64.
Whatever.
Anyway, now that Panama has dumped Taiwan,
China’s gonna treat them right!
With millions of dollars of infrastructure investments.
The Chinese regime pulls this all the time
with developing nations,
especially those still allied with Taiwan.
In the mid-90s,
Taiwan was recognized by as many as
30 countries.
Now it’s down to just 20.
When Costa Rica decided to make the switch,
they were rewarded with this delightful new
$100 million dollar stadium.
Are you not entertained?
Some countries even pit both Chinas
against each other/itself
for more lucrative deals.
Take St. Lucia.
No, the tiny Caribbean island named after her
that you’ve probably never heard of.
It used to recognize Taiwan.
But in 1997,
it decided to switch allegiances
to the Chinese Communist Party.
That came with funding
for large infrastructure projects.
But in 2007,
St Lucia switched back to Taiwan,
because “the foreign minister at the time
is reported to have suggested
that one should
‘support those who give you the most.’”
Which in this case
meant a national tennis center.
But then in 2011,
St Lucia switched allegiances yet again.
The Prime Minister of Burkina Faso,
a small African nation allied with Taiwan,
told Bloomberg,
“We get outrageous proposals telling us,
‘if you sign with Beijing
we’ll offer you $50 billion
or even more.’”
This doesn’t mean Taiwan
is on its own though—
just because 9 out of every 10 nations
don’t have formal diplomatic ties with it.
For example, the United States recognizes
the People’s Republic of China,
but also keeps up diplomatic ties with Taiwan
in some roundabout ways.
Following the split with Panama,
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
said the US was committed to both
the One China Policy,
and to Taiwan.
So we can have our pork bun
and eat it too.
In the US, and in many other countries,
you can visit the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office.
What’s that?
Well, I’m sure you might get some idea
from their website,
which you can visit
at Taiwan Embassy dot org.
Of course, the Communist Party is no fool.
They’ve been tricking people for ages.
That’s why Fiji just happened
to close their Taiwan trade office,
just as Prime Minister Frank Ban...
Baini...Frankie B...
traveled to China.
It was for for Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Forum.
The Chinese regime has also just been trying
to get the name Taiwan
off of these “trade offices.”
Right, “Trade offices.”
Some countries even go a step further.
At the start of the year,
two Chinese companies announced
they’re going to build the world’s
tallest towers in Cambodia.
A month later,
the Cambodian Prime Minister
decided to ban Tibetan and Taiwanese flags
out of, you know,
respect for China’s sovereignty.
And we know which China
they’re talking about.
Just for fun,
imagine if the Chinese Communist Party
cared about more than just countries.
Imagine if they tried to bribe
individual people who recognize
the Republic of China
as the one true China.
Of course, that would be ridiculous.
So what do you think of Panama
breaking off ties with Taiwan
and the Chinese regime trying to bribe
other countries to do the same?
Leave your comments below.
Once again,
I’m your host, Chris Chappell.
See you next time.
You know, Shelley.
I cannot believe the lengths the Chinese regime
will go to to stop Taiwan from-
Hello?
Oh, Ambassador Cui!
Would I be interested in China
sponsoring new million-dollar studio?