Source: Yuyuan Tan Tian
Tsai Ing-wen, who was in the process of beauty, had just left Guatemala on the front foot when she received "bad news":
Guatemala may also have to say "no" to the Taiwan authorities. Saying the word "also" is that before Tsai Ing-wen went to the United States, Honduras had just "severed diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan authorities, and this has not yet returned, and Guatemala is about to turn on the red light.
This conclusion comes from Lord Tan's friend in Guatemala. They are from all walks of life in Guatemala, from politics, to business, and to ordinary people. Their views are:
Upholding one China is the trend of the times.
Lord Tan suggested that the DPP authorities could consider dismantling the so-called foreign affairs department, after all, there is not much work left to do.
What Guatemalan circles have said specifically, you can take a look together.
Just earlier this month, after the Tsai Ing-wen administration's "visit" to Guatemala, the Guatemalan Left Party held a campaign launch ceremony.
At the launch ceremony, Guatemalan presidential candidate Amirka Pope and vice presidential candidate Monica Enriquez were present. Around the Taiwan issue, they were interviewed exclusively by CGTN, and Amirka Pope shared her views:
Guatemala's relations with Taiwan have caused internal tensions in the country. China's sovereignty must be respected, and the government should not support Taiwan. The government should choose the right diplomatic direction for the sake of the people and the economic development of the country.
The Tsai Ing-wen administration is obviously no longer well received by all walks of life in Guatemala. Correspondingly, the whole process of the visit is also full of jokes.
After Tsai Ing-wen landed in Guatemala, the scene was a little more "lively" than the red carpet less than five meters when she landed in New York - a little more music.
And this welcome ceremony was not carried out in accordance with the so-called "diplomatic" etiquette practice. In the music session, Guatemala did not play the song of Taiwan, but its own national anthem.
Zhou Jiali, an associate professor at the Foreign Affairs College who has long studied diplomatic protocol etiquette, told Lord Tan that according to international practice, at the welcome ceremony, the other party's song should be played first, and then the national anthem of the host country should be played.
Of course, then again, the Tsai administration was not qualified to discuss diplomatic etiquette.
On the way to the hotel, judging from the old man's gestures, the people along the street really did not welcome Tsai Ing-wen's arrival.
At the "state banquet" that night, Tsai Ing-wen ate very stuffed teeth.
In front of Tsai Ing-wen, Guatemalan President Jamata said a big truth:
"Not long ago, a president of a Latin American country told me that you see that there are fewer and fewer 'countries with diplomatic relations' in Taiwan."
Honduras, a country that recently "severed diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan authorities, is located in Latin America, while Honduras and Guatemala are neighboring countries. The last country that "severed diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan authorities, Nicaragua, is also a Latin American country.
This trend, in the words of Carlos Barrientos, a member of the political movement in Winnak Guatemala:
By not establishing diplomatic relations with China, the government is limiting itself, by limiting relations with one of the world's major powers.
Most countries in the world recognize that the Taiwan region is part of China. Therefore, it is unreasonable that Guatemala does not have diplomatic relations with China.
There are six Spanish-speaking countries in Central America, of which five now have diplomatic relations with China:
Panama
Costa Rica
Nicaragua
El Salvador
Honduras
At present, of the six brothers of the Spanish language family in Central America, only Guatemala has not yet established diplomatic relations with China, and this "unique seedling" has long been very nervous by the Taiwan authorities.
According to officials of the foreign affairs department of the Taiwan authorities, Guatemala has continuously released information to China on strengthening cooperation in recent years, and the first ministerial meeting of the China-Latin America Forum held in Beijing made the Taiwan authorities unable to sleep for a while.
Now, when Tsai Ing-wen arrived in Guatemala, a reporter asked the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry about "Guatemala will send a high-level diplomat to China". In this regard, China's response is:
"We hope that Guatemala will recognize the general trend and make the right choice as soon as possible."
Ironically, even the United States feels that the general trend of the tide of "severing diplomatic relations" by the Taiwan authorities is irreversible. The Tsai Ing-wen authorities are now on their way to the United States, but the Western media specifically picked out this time to provide a revelation:
U.S. officials increasingly feel that the next person to "sever diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan authorities and establish diplomatic relations with China may come from Latin American countries.
According to the revelations provided by a number of US officials and several sources familiar with the matter, they believe that the Biden administration is no longer able to do anything to prevent the so-called "countries with diplomatic relations" in Taiwan from turning to China, which explains why the United States remained silent after Honduras abandoned Taiwan not long ago.
Whether the Western media have intentions or not, the Cai administration's intentional weakness must not be covered.
This inability to cover up was also confirmed in the communication between Lord Tan and the local people in Guatemala.
Daniel Pascual Hernández, a local Guatemalan citizen, was puzzled:
What is important about maintaining relations between Guatemala and the Taiwan authorities at present? Guatemala's relationship with the Taiwan authorities is not even public, it is based on money, not on the relationship between the two peoples. This is not meaningful for Guatemala's development.
Greta Fenters, a 28-year-old designer who lives in Guatemala City, receives $3,000 a month from a $3.9 million aid program in Taiwan.
Obviously, the only way for the Taiwan authorities to retain Guatemala, a "country with diplomatic relations," is to spend a lot of money. The Taiwan authorities themselves admit this.
After Honduras and the Taiwan authorities "severed diplomatic relations," Wu Zhaoxie, head of the so-called foreign affairs department of the Taiwan authorities, known as the "minister of severance of diplomatic relations," said that the reason for the "severance of diplomatic relations" was that the other party "had to ask for too much." However, in addition to revealing that he pursues the policy of "financial aid diplomacy", he also exposes his ignorance of international trends.
Honduran President Castro Castro has vowed to make "Honduras no longer poor" - Latin American countries, focusing on the long-term development of the country.
For Guatemala, a predominantly agricultural economy, trade with Taiwan is negligible.
Guatemalan Carlos Barrientos said:
Many people in Guatemala, including business people, are looking forward to a relationship with China, and even if they don't have one, they can't stop our trade with China, where many goods come from Guatemala.
Guatemala has a weak industrial base and imports most of its daily necessities from China. Since January 2019, China has become Guatemala's second largest source of imports, with Guatemala importing the most electronic devices and components from China. For this alone, the amount amounts to $19.7 million.
In the process of communicating with Tan, Luis Pase, a system engineer in Guatemala, praised the technical advantages shown by Chinese brands.
In addition to trade, Guatemalans are looking forward to working with China to make their country more technological, scientific and cultural.
Many people have shared with Lord Tan that they have seen Africa develop by leaps and bounds with the help of China. They hope that Latin America will also have such changes.
They have no doubt that establishing diplomatic relations with China may give the agricultural country the opportunity to industrialize.
Establishing diplomatic relations with China as soon as possible is the voice of all walks of life in Guatemala and an irreversible trend.
Pedro Barnoa, president of the Chamber of Commerce at Medium Risk, shared this sentence:
China's history tells everyone that there is only one China in the world. History also tells us that attempts to split China will not end well.
Just when Guatemala recently frequently released signals of "severing diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan authorities, the Tsai Ing-wen authorities urgently refuted the rumors and came up with the words that Guatemala is a loyal "friend" and the relations between the two sides are extremely close and friendly.
Ironically, similar rhetoric has been used in Sao Tome and Principe, Panama, Dominica, Burkina Faso, El Salvador, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Nicaragua, Honduras and many other countries.
These countries, without exception, have all "severed diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan authorities during their tenure in office under the Tsai Ing-wen administration.
How long until the next "severance"? Tsai Ing-wen is afraid that she can't sleep and can't figure it out.