Central American Belize-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen Diplomacy

Among his colleagues in the opposition, three fellow parliamentarians, including Hon. Shyne Barrow, had written to Governor General Froyla Tzalam earlier this week informing her that Faber no longer enjoys their confidence as Leader of the Opposition.

Moses Barrow, better known as former Bad Boy rapper Shyne, was appointed Belize’s Leader of the Opposition

Moses Barrow, better known as former Bad Boy rapper Shyne, was appointed Belize’s Leader of the Opposition at the end of June 2021. This new role came less than a year after he was elected into the House of Representatives. However, as one climbs the latter in their respective career, controversy unfortunately lurks. Due to his less than squeaky clean past, which includes serving 10 years in prison for a shooting, older Belizean officials are attempting to use his mistakes against him. However,in this interview, Shyne opens up about his vision for his beloved country. Citizens of his home give their take on the new leader.

Mr. Barrow area representative for Belize city’s Mesopotamia constituency, was administered the oath of office to become the new Leader of the Opposition in a brief ceremony at Belize House in Belmopan on Wednesday 24 June 2021. It’s the first of two decisive actions taken by members of the party to unseat Faber, to be successfully completed

US-China Foreign Relations

“While our policy has not changed, what has changed is Beijing’s growing coercion – like trying to cut off Taiwan’s relations with countries around the world,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a speech about China relations last year.

As Taiwan’s diplomatic partners dwindle and turn instead to rival China, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is aiming to shore up ties with the self-governing island’s remaining allies during a trip this week to Central America. China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taipei strongly rejects.

China has spent a great amount of effort in its campaign to diplomatically isolate Taiwan ever since Tsai’s election in 2016, successfully convincing nine countries to break off relations with Taipei since she has been in office.

China’s government views Tsai and her independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party as separatists.

In recent months, tensions have only intensified as relations between Beijing and Washington have spiraled. As a result, regions like Central America have grown in geopolitical importance to countries considered separatist Nationals in China.

In 2019, analysts looked over reported geopolitical upheaval. Hegemonic conflicts and separatist banter which permeated social media through networks was also monitored.

Current watchdog Chinese separatist conflicts and their social media handles.

The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is an international membership-based organization established to empower the voices of unrepresented and marginalized peoples worldwide and to protect their fundamental human rights.

Taiwan was left out since the CCP does not control Taiwan. A Taiwanese aboriginal separatist movement exists, but that is an issue for the KMT and not the People’s Republic of China.

The movements were tracked down by their social media presence on Twitter and included if they had over 500 followers on their main account, with the exception of the Inner Mongolia independence movement; which was instead mentioned on a UNPO website.

As of 2023, the KMT is the largest opposition party in the Legislative Yuan. The current chairman is Eric Chu.

In Taiwanese politics today, the Chinese Nationalists Party’s Eric Chu, Kuomintang (KMT) is a centre-right to right-wing party and is the largest party in the Pan-Blue Coalition.

The KMT’s primary rival in elections is the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its allies in the Pan-Green Coalition.

Clarified that Hong Kong is not poor. Although Hong Kong is no match for Shanghai in terms of population and wealth, the average citizen in Hong Kong will still enjoy a much higher quality of life compared to a citizen of Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, or Yunnan.

East Turkestan

Eastern Turkestan Government In Exile/World Uyghur Congress. The homeland of the Uyghurs, justifies their wish for independence from Chinese rule by claiming that the People’s Liberation Army occupied them illegally in 1949 while chasing out Nationalist remnants in the region, and the suppression of Uyghur religion and culture.

Handles: @ETGIE_TURKISTAN,@UyghurCongress

Tibet

Tibetan Government In Exile/Free Tibet. Justifies their wish for independence from Chinese rule by claiming that the People’s Liberation Army invaded them illegally in 1950, and the suppression of Tibetan religion and culture.

Handles: @FreeTibetOrg, @DalaiLama, @SaveTibetOrg

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Independence Party/Hong Kong National Party. Despite being vastly Han, justifies their wish for independence from Chinese rule by claiming that Chinese interference with their autonomy violates the handover treaty and jeopardizes the welfare of the Hong Kong people.

Handles: @HKNationalParty, Various others (Too many HK-based activists to count)

Yunnan

Yunnan National Foundation. Justifies their wish for independence from Chinese rule by claiming that the People’s Liberation Army occupied them illegally in 1949 while chasing out remnants of the Nationalists in the region, and the past suppression of the religion and culture of the various ethnic groups in Yunnan.

Handles: @FreeYunnan

Nguyuit Republic

Shanghai Independence Party. Despite being vastly Han, justifies their wish for independence from Chinese rule by claiming that the Shanghai International Legation should have had the option to gain full-fledged independence when handed over to the People’s Republic of China, and that the current action of the Chinese government jeopardizes the welfare of the people of Shanghai.

Handles: @ShanghaiNation

Inner Mongolia

Could not find a representative group. Justifies their wish for independence from Chinese rule by claiming that the People’s Liberation Army occupied them illegally in 1949 while chasing out Nationalist remnants in the region, and the suppression of Mongolian religion and culture.

Handles: N/A

Interesting Notes: Even if China loses all these territories, the Chinese economy will still have the second highest GDP in the world, remaining over 10 trillion. China will also still remain the 2nd most populated nation in the world, behind India. Since these regions (Minus Shanghai/HK) are comparatively poor, backwater areas compared to the rich eastern provinces, it is conceivable that even if China did somehow lose them, the country would still remain a superpower on the Asian continent and the newly independent nations would find themselves once more under the Chinese sphere of influence.

In April the 2023, Tsai listened, as Briceno applauded a declaration lawmakers passed last month reaffirming Belize’s formal recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign and independent country.

“Belize welcomes you into our home with open arms,” Prime Minister John Briceno told Tsai during a joint session of the National Assembly in Belmopan, the capital of the small Central American country of some 400,000 people.

Briceno ticked off some of Taipei’s largesse, thanking it for scholarships, farming programs and a $16.5 million grant to build a hospital in the island town and popular tourist hub of San Pedro.

In her remarks, Tsai spoke of “expansionist threats from authoritarian regimes,” adding that “the people of Taiwan face constant threats from the neighbor on the other side of the Taiwan Straits,” referring to China.

Tsai touched down in Guatemala on Friday, November 3, 2023, afternoon, Tsai is seen walking from the plane along a red carpet alongside Guatemala’s foreign minister.

In a speech addressed to leaders of Guatemala and Belize shortly before departing on her visit, Tsai framed the trip as a chance to show Taiwan’s commitment to democratic values globally.

“External pressure will not obstruct our resolution to go on the world stage. We will be calm, self-confident, we will not submit but also not provoke,” said Tsai, who will also meet with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a stopover in the United States.

The trip also is aimed at solidifying ties in Latin America as China funnels money into the region and pressures its countries to break off relations with the self-governed democratic island.

In Guatemala and Belize, Tsai is expected to bring an open checkbook. But in a region under growing Chinese influence, analysts say that Taiwan may already have lost the long game.

“These countries, are symbolic. And I don’t think Taiwan wants to lose any of them,” said June Teufel Dreyer, a political scientist at the University of Miami. “But if China is going to indulge in checkbook diplomacy, I don’t think Taiwan can compete and it knows it.”

The visit comes just days after Honduras became the latest country to break with Taiwan in favor of establishing ties with China.

Honduras follows in the footsteps of Nicaragua, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Panama and Costa Rica in ditching Taiwan. In some cases, China was said to have dangled hefty investment packages and loans in exchange for switching allegiances.

As the Asian superpower has sought to isolate Taiwan and expand its power on the global stage, Chinese trade and investment in Latin America has soared.

Between 2005 and 2020, the Chinese have invested more than $130 billion in Latin America, according to the United States Institute of Peace. Trade between China and the region has also shot up, and is expected to reach more than $700 billion by 2035.

Honduras’ move came in conjunction with the construction of a hydroelectric dam project built by the Chinese company SINOHYDRO with about $300 million in Chinese government financing.

It left Taiwan with no more than 13 official diplomatic partners. More than half of those are small countries in Latin America and the Caribbean: Belize, Guatemala, Paraguay, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

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