Text/None
Seeing that the female president of Honduras has gained a lot from her first visit to China, another "country with diplomatic relations" of the Taiwan authorities cannot sit still and begins to show goodwill to China.
(Honduran President's visit to China)
According to the Observer Network, a few days ago, Paraguay's quasi-foreign minister Ramirez said in an interview with Russian media that the country's upcoming new government is ready to conduct dialogue with China and establish diplomatic, consular and trade relations.
It is reported that Paraguay held a general election in April this year, and the new president elected was Santiago Peña of the Red Party, who defeated two other candidates who advocated the establishment of diplomatic relations with China and once said that he would continue the "diplomatic relations" relations with the Taiwan authorities.
(The incoming new president of Paraguay)
Now that the new government has not yet come to power, such a marked change in attitude may seem strange at first glance, but in fact, after reading the words of this prospective foreign minister, you can understand it, because he specially stressed that these should be carried out without any preconditions, and Paraguay's relations with the Taiwan authorities will not change, and cooperation with the Taiwan authorities will not be abandoned.
As we all know, the prerequisite for any country to establish diplomatic relations with China is to adhere to the "one-China" principle and sever foreign relations with the Taiwan authorities, as Nicaragua and Honduras did before. And this statement of the prospective foreign minister of Paraguay obviously wants to "eat all" at both ends, in other words, he wants to make an offer to both Chinese mainland and Taiwan.
(Opened by Embassy of Honduras in Beijing)
What they say about "no conditions attached" is actually using Taiwan as a bargaining chip to blatantly demand Chinese mainland.
On the other hand, Ramirez's words are also reminding the Taiwan authorities that if they want to retain Paraguay, a "country with diplomatic relations", they must take more benefits in exchange. This trick has not been used for the first time in Paraguay, as it was reported in October last year that the country's current president, Abdo, asked the Taiwan authorities to give $1 billion in investment to maintain "diplomatic relations" between the two sides, otherwise he may not be able to withstand the pressure and "break off diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan authorities. Although Taiwan's foreign affairs department later clarified that there was no quid pro quo for "diplomatic relations" with Paraguay, everyone knew that this was nothing more than self-deception.
(President Abdow of Paraguay)
At present, there are only 13 so-called "countries with diplomatic relations" left in the Taiwan authorities, and Paraguay is the only South American country among them, and it is also the largest of them.
In fact, the reason why Paraguay wants to establish relations with Chinese mainland is very simple, that is, to solve the crisis facing its country, because the current situation of Paraguay means that the new government is not having a good time, as a small country with a population of 7.4 million, Paraguay's pillar industry is agriculture, economic growth is mainly dependent on the export of various agricultural products, affected by the epidemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the country's economic situation has already seriously deteriorated, and it is urgently needed to expand exports and find more international markets. And China is undoubtedly the best choice. In particular, seeing that Honduras has reached a series of cooperation with China after the establishment of diplomatic relations, and the export of agricultural products such as white shrimp, bananas, and coffee beans has been unimpeded, Paraguay is estimated to be quite red-eyed.
(More Honduran agricultural products will be exported to China)
However, if Paraguay wants to bargain with China on this issue, I am afraid it has miscalculated. The Chinese side has long said that adhering to the "one-China" principle is the aspiration of the people and the trend of the times, and we will not make any concessions on this point.
(Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin)
The establishment of diplomatic relations between Nicaragua and Honduras and China is the correct decision they made on the premise of recognizing the international trend, and their choices and current situation are enough to prove that cooperation with China means more development opportunities and long-term benefits. If Paraguay really wants to establish diplomatic relations with China, it is recommended to learn from Honduras what is the right way to deal with China.