TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Amid the uproar over the apparent ultimatum issued by Paraguay's president to Taiwan calling for US$1 billion (NT$31.75 billion) in investment to remain diplomatic allies, a meme surfaced on social media on Thursday (Sept. 29) that mocked the potential end of the road for the relationship between Taiwan and its last South American ally.
On Thursday, the Financial Times published an interview with Paraguay's President Mario Abdo Benítez in which he urged Taiwan to invest US$1 billion in his nation to aid him in resisting the "enormous" pressure to drop diplomatic ties in favor of China. Abdo pointed out that Taiwan has invested US$6 billion in countries that are not diplomatic allies and "we want from that $1bn to be put in Paraguay."
Abdo's comments sparked a firestorm of criticism and speculation that Paraguay is poised to declare its allegiance to Beijing, as previous demands for large investments have often presaged diplomatic switches by previous allies. Paraguay's foreign affairs minister, Julio César Arriola, attempted to "clarify" Abdo's statements by telling Taiwan's ambassador Jose Han (韓志正) that the relationship between Taiwan and Paraguay is "based on common values and ideas" and denied that there was a quid pro quo.
That evening, a Paraguayan member of the Reddit page for Paraguay posted a Spanish language illustration based on the meme "There are people who are the journey and not the destination" and posed the question "is Taiwan a country or not?" Another Paraguayan then posted an English version of the meme on the Reddit page for Taiwan and wrote:
"I don't understand what my government is doing. I always realized how much help Taiwan has given to us Paraguayans. So let's have a laugh instead, it's the only (thing) that us common people can do."
The original meme starts with the words "There are people..." and shows a couple kissing on a boat out at sea. The next line states "who are the journey" and shows the woman disembarking as the boat reaches to peer and grabs the hand of another man.
The third frame reads "and not the destination..." as the man in the boat looks forlorn as his former lover turns her back on him and walks away with another man.
The new version replaces the man in the boat with Taiwan's flag, the woman is covered with the Paraguay flag, and the other man has become China's red banner. The Paraguayan author of the English meme, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Taiwan News that he created it because he "only wanted to have a laugh at the situation and share that laughter with Taiwan."
(Know Your Meme image)
(Reddit, r/Paraguay meme)
