TAICHUNG (Taiwan News) — Once relatively rare, these days hardly a week passes without at least one foreign delegation of politicians and/or government officials arriving in Taiwan, some from countries and regions that have never sent delegations before.
Currently, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei is in Taiwan representing the last remaining country in Central America to diplomatically recognize the Republic of China (ROC), and appearing not by accident, he referred to it twice as the Republic of Taiwan. At a welcoming ceremony at the presidential office, he stated, "I want everyone to trust that Guatemala will continue to be a solid diplomatic ally to the Republic of Taiwan and will continue to deepen cooperation in all areas," pledging "absolute support."
In April, delegations from France, the United States, the U.S. state of Virginia, Oman, Canada, Portugal, Marshall Islands, another from the United States, and Czechia all visited Taiwan. That’s an average of two per week.
It is heartening to see so much positive international attention. Not long ago, pressure from China was enough to stop most delegations from coming, or even considering a visit in the first place.
Chinese embassies still send threatening letters to those planning on visiting Taiwan, but they are no longer effective. Chinese supporters and proxies still sometimes try to make the case that a delegation should not visit Taiwan because it would be too “provocative,” but it is less commonly heard and almost always ignored now.
Five or six years ago, there were only a handful of delegations per year, but there is now a flood. There are four main reasons for the dramatic shift.
Dramatic shift
Partially, it is the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) own fault. The genocide in East Turkestan, the crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in China, massive spying and theft of trade secrets worldwide, interference in other countries' elections, and the shift towards offensive and aggressive “wolf warrior” diplomacy are just some of the reasons that many countries' relations with the PRC have soured.
The last few years have caused nations to realize the importance of supply chains, and it has become apparent that Taiwan is a major trading nation that plays crucial roles in many of the most important products that modern societies rely on. Semiconductors are cited most commonly, but many other high-tech products, chemicals, and other products are also produced by Taiwanese companies.
Taiwan has also received a lot of positive attention in recent years from the international media. Taiwan’s robust democracy, being the first to legalize same-sex marriage in Asia and Taiwan’s handling of the pandemic are just some of the things that received good press and put President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on the covers of magazines around the world.
The positive press is also being fed by an exodus of foreign journalists relocating to Taiwan as the press environment in China becomes increasingly repressive. Previously, Taiwan was usually covered by journalists based in Hong Kong who knew little about the country and often unconsciously parroted Chinese propaganda.
Much of that positive press has been masterfully boosted by the foreign policy team of President Tsai, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), and representatives like Taiwan’s envoy to the U.S. Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴). Together they have successfully crafted an image of Taiwan as a stable, free, independent, and democratic nation that acts peacefully but strongly in the face of belligerence.
Taiwan can help
Efforts like “Taiwan can help” did actually help, especially during the pandemic when Taiwan was one of the few countries donating large volumes of face masks and other necessary gear. That was received with gratitude in many nations, and some eventually reciprocated by donating vaccines when Taiwan was having trouble securing them.
Donations and assistance are a good way to help a relationship, but when it is mutual, a bond is formed. This was particularly noticeable with countries like the United States, Japan, and several eastern European nations.
The final reason why the number of delegations is increasing so fast is that the more countries that send them, the more other countries are also encouraged to as well. The fear of Chinese retaliation is fading and efforts to stop delegations are increasingly viewed simply as bullying.
There is not much that the CCP can do about this. They would do themselves irreparable harm if they attempted to seriously retaliate against every delegation. There are simply too many from too many countries.
Even the European Union is acting more in unison on Taiwan, in spite of only recently having been on the cusp of signing a free trade deal with China. Increasingly, attempts by China to stop delegations are simply backfiring.
Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) is a regular contributing columnist for Taiwan News, the central Taiwan correspondent for ICRT FM100 Radio News, co-publisher of Compass Magazine, co-founder of Taiwan Report (report.tw) and former chair of the Taichung American Chamber of Commerce. For more columns by the author, click here. Follow him on Twitter: @donovan_smith.
