China's Diplomatic Gain Is Taiwan's Loss

TAIPEI, Taiwan, July 8 -- The news came as a shock to many Taiwanese. After 63 years as a faithful ally of this self-ruled island, Costa Rica was switching diplomatic relations to mainland China, acknowledging that money was the big lure.

The change of course by a tiny Central American nation, announced in May, was a small event in the ebb and flow of world affairs. But here in Taiwan it was regarded as a major setback, perhaps an omen, in the long-standing and fierce competition with China for international recognition.

As China becomes more integrated into the world's economic and political system -- and increasingly loses its stigma as a Cold War adversary -- the competition in recent years has become increasingly difficult for Taiwanese diplomats. The number of countries recognizing mainland China has risen to 169 while Taiwan's score has declined to 24, most of them pocket-size countries where a small amount of aid money can make a big difference.

Taiwan's foreign minister, James Huang, said national pride is not the only reason for the competition. Diplomatic allies are so many "bargaining chips" in any negotiation with China, he said, and reduction of Taiwan's "international space" is tantamount to a reduction in its ability to deal with the government in Beijing on equal footing.

"At the end of the day, when we sit at the negotiating table, we will have no leverage at all" if the defections continue, he said in an interview. "This is what China wants."

Philip Yang, a professor at National Taiwan University and political analyst, said the loss of diplomatic recognition could also damage the Taiwanese government's standing at home because many of Taiwan's 23 million inhabitants regard the issue as a measure of national identity.

"It's more to prove to ourselves that we are living in international society as an independent state," Yang said.

Costa Rica's defection hurt particularly because of its long tradition of support for Taiwan in the international arena. Moreover, diplomats voiced fears that other Central American stalwarts -- Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala -- might follow Costa Rica's example.

President Chen Shui-bian ordered a diplomatic offensive to try to hold things together. Vice President Annette Lu flew Wednesday to the Dominican Republic, where she ponied up $300,000 for a children's hospital and pledged another $700,000. She moved on to Paraguay over the weekend and planned a third stop in Guatemala.

Huang, meanwhile, left the same day for a tour of African allies Malawi, Gambia, Swaziland, Sao Tome and Principe, and Burkina Faso. He was shown Sunday in Tapei newspapers posing with the king of Swaziland, who dutifully backed Taiwan's unlikely bid to join the United Nations.

Chen himself talked on the telephone Wednesday with the leaders of Paraguay, Honduras and Nicaragua, officials said, and he announced he will go to Honduras in August for a conference among Taiwan and its remaining Latin American allies. Chen also took time to address legislators from six Latin American countries on Tuesday, here attending the Forum of Presidents of the Legislative Bodies of Central America and the Caribbean Basin.

The main fear now is Nicaragua, Taiwanese said. This is because of President Daniel Ortega, who was elected in November for a second time. Ortega switched relations to mainland China when he was president the first time, in the 1980s, as head of the Marxist-oriented Sandinista National Liberation Front.