Diplomatic Relations- Highest Bidder Wins!

Chalk one up for China this week. They have managed to convince the neutral country of Costa Rica to break diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) after more than six decades and establish formal relations with them. As Taiwanese Foreign Minister James Huang said Thursday, China had offered Costa Rica "an astronomical figure" to break off relations with Taiwan. This move by Costa Rica is expected to have a sort of domino effect with countries such as Nicaragua, Panama and Paraguay possibly following suit. Due to the fact that Taiwan only has formal relations with 24 countries and many of these in Latin America, these moves could diminish the international standing of Taiwan.

The Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias, made very blunt statements this week in announcing his decision to formally end his country's ties to Taiwan. He made it known that the move was dictated by his desire to improve the economy of Costa Rica but did not respond to the allegations of Chinese 'incentives'. Arias announced the line of the new age- "We are looking to strengthen the commercial ties and attract investment" and criticized Taiwan for giving so little aid to its allies. As he noted, "I was always critical of the Taiwanese, and I can say now that I always told them...if you want to have friends in the world, you should be more generous." He said "Without a doubt, we will get more help from China. The reasons are very obvious,” adding that relations with mainland China will “bring greater well being and development for Costa Rica, which cannot remain static in a changing world.” What a nice way to treat a country such as Taiwan that has given Costa Rica millions of dollars in aid over the years and spearheaded numerous projects. As an example, the Costa Rican bridge in the picture above is ironically named the Taiwan-Costa Rica Friendship Bridge and was completed in 2003 for about $26 million dollars all donated by Taiwan. I wonder if the name will remain the same now?

It is sad when a country now decides that it will have or not have relations with another country based on nothing more than how much money is involved. I also find it ironic that the concepts of neutrality, old friendships and many shared ideals are thrown over the bus for the promise of a quick buck and bigger markets. Surprisingly, in these days, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and humanitarian picks China. Gotta love globalization, huh?