two Chinas for the price of one!

Hi, welcome to China Uncensored,

I'm your host Chris Chappell.

And I've got a great idea

for all you countries out there

that need a little extra spending money.

First, establish formal diplomatic ties

with Taiwan.

This will anger mainland China.

Then, establish ties with mainland China

and agree to break off ties with Taiwan,

in exchange for millions of dollars.

That would never work, you say?

Well, just ask Panama.

A big win for China

and a major blow to Taiwan.

Beijing on Tuesday welcoming

formal ties with Panama,

after the Central American nation

ditched relations with Taipei,

saying it now only recognizes one China

and Taiwan is part of it.”

For those of you who need some background,

once upon a time,

that time being 1912,

there was a country called

the Republic of China

that was in mainland China.

But then in 1949,

the Chinese Communist Party

seized control of mainland China

and created the People's Republic of China.

So the Republic of China government

fled to the island of Taiwan,

creating two Chinas.

Ultimately, the two sides came to an agreement

called the One China Policy.

That's where both sides agree

there's only one China,

they just also avoid saying

which one is the one China.

Which is all very normal

and makes total sense.

It's almost like each China

exists in its own separate reality

where they are the only China.

And then they made

the rest of the countries in the world

choose which reality

they wanted to live in.

Confusing,

but it could be worse.

There could be 52 Chinas.

But lately, the One China policy

hasn't been working out

too well for Taiwan.

Sure, at first most countries

chose their reality.

But then in 1971,

the United Nations formally recognized

the Communist Party's People's Republic of China

instead of Taiwan.

And ever since,

more and more countries

have been following suit.

Panama was one of Taiwan's oldest allies.

It's recognized the Republic of China

since 1912—

basically from its founding.

But now Panama has found a shiny new ally.

It's kind of like how in middle school y

ou suddenly decided that instead of

hanging out with Chris C.,

your best friend since preschool,

you were going to hang out

with that jerk Chris R.

just because he had an N64.

Whatever.

Anyway, now that Panama has dumped Taiwan,

China's gonna treat them right!

With millions of dollars of infrastructure investments.

The Chinese regime pulls this all the time

with developing nations,

especially those still allied with Taiwan.

In the mid-90s,

Taiwan was recognized by as many as

30 countries.

Now it's down to just 20.

When Costa Rica decided to make the switch,

they were rewarded with this delightful new

$100 million dollar stadium.

Are you not entertained?

Some countries even pit both Chinas

against each other/itself

for more lucrative deals.

Take St. Lucia.

No, the tiny Caribbean island named after her

that you've probably never heard of.

It used to recognize Taiwan.

But in 1997,

it decided to switch allegiances

to the Chinese Communist Party.

That came with funding

for large infrastructure projects.

But in 2007,

St Lucia switched back to Taiwan,

because “the foreign minister at the time

is reported to have suggested

that one should

'support those who give you the most.'”

Which in this case

meant a national tennis center.

But then in 2011,

St Lucia switched allegiances yet again.

The Prime Minister of Burkina Faso,

a small African nation allied with Taiwan,

told Bloomberg,

“We get outrageous proposals telling us,

'if you sign with Beijing

we'll offer you $50 billion

or even more.'”

This doesn't mean Taiwan

is on its own though—

just because 9 out of every 10 nations

don't have formal diplomatic ties with it.

For example, the United States recognizes

the People's Republic of China,

but also keeps up diplomatic ties with Taiwan

in some roundabout ways.

Following the split with Panama,

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

said the US was committed to both

the One China Policy,

and to Taiwan.

So we can have our pork bun

and eat it too.

In the US, and in many other countries,

you can visit the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office.

What's that?

Well, I'm sure you might get some idea

from their website,

which you can visit

at Taiwan Embassy dot org.

Of course, the Communist Party is no fool.

They've been tricking people for ages.

That's why Fiji just happened

to close their Taiwan trade office,

just as Prime Minister Frank Ban...

Baini...Frankie B...

traveled to China.

It was for for Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Forum.

The Chinese regime has also just been trying

to get the name Taiwan

off of these “trade offices.”

Right, “Trade offices.”

Some countries even go a step further.

At the start of the year,

two Chinese companies announced

they're going to build the world's

tallest towers in Cambodia.

A month later,

the Cambodian Prime Minister

decided to ban Tibetan and Taiwanese flags

out of, you know,

respect for China's sovereignty.

And we know which China

they're talking about.

Just for fun,

imagine if the Chinese Communist Party

cared about more than just countries.

Imagine if they tried to bribe

individual people who recognize

the Republic of China

as the one true China.

Of course, that would be ridiculous.

So what do you think of Panama

breaking off ties with Taiwan

and the Chinese regime trying to bribe

other countries to do the same?

Leave your comments below.

Once again,

I'm your host, Chris Chappell.

See you next time.

You know, Shelley.

I cannot believe the lengths the Chinese regime

will go to to stop Taiwan from-

Hello?

Oh, Ambassador Cui!

Would I be interested in China

sponsoring new million-dollar studio?