dollar diplomacy

“The Taiwanese People Should Stand With the People of Swaziland”: A Conversation with Tanele Maseko

Brian Hioe
New Bloom editor Brian Hioe interviewed Tanele Maseko, human rights defender from Swaziland and the wife of Thulani Maseko. Thulani Maseko, an opposition politician and human rights lawyer, was killed by unidentified gunman in January of this year. As this took place after comments by Swazi monarch King Mswati III suggesting that critics of his should be killed, it is thought that this killing was ordered by the monarch. Tanele Maseko was visiting Taipei for the Oslo Freedom Forum on October 18th. Despite the questionable human rights record of Swaziland, which was renamed Eswatini by Mswati III in April 2018, it is one of Taiwan's diplomatic allies. Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen most recently visited Eswatini this September. ...
EnglishNovember 2023Politics11 min read

Tsai’s Eswatini Trip Continues Praise of Authoritarian Monarchy

Brian Hioe
A recent visit to Eswatini by Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen saw Tsai praise Eswatini for its support of Taiwan, while lauding the relationship between Taiwan and Eswatini as “the epitome of progress and development”. However, what Tsai did not mention in her comments was the fact that Eswatini’s government is an authoritarian one, as a country in which freedom of political association is forbidden and ruled over by one of the world’s last absolute monarchs...
EnglishPoliticsSeptember 20236 min read

China Leverages on Taiwan’s Reputation for Dollar Diplomacy in Somaliland Criticisms

Brian Hioe
In the past week, the Chinese government has sought to tar Taiwan’s efforts to build stronger diplomatic relations with Somaliland, with state-run tabloid Global Times alleging that the Taiwanese government is paying off politicians in Somaliland in return for diplomatic recognition. Such claims, which have been denied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, draw on Taiwan’s reputation for “dollar diplomacy” ...
EnglishOctober 2021Politics5 min read

Talk Of ‘Africa Plan’ Not Likely To Prove Any More Successful Than New Southbound Policy

Brian Hioe
Following a five-day state visit to Swaziland by Tsai Ing-Wen last week, Tsai has called for creation of an “Africa plan” to develop stronger economic and political ties between Taiwan and Africa. One suspects that, much like the Tsai administration’s “New Southbound Policy”, this would also be with the aim of weaning Taiwan off of economic dependency on China. But one generally suspects that this would encounter many of the same challenges that the New Southbound Policy has. Furthermore, one must keep in mind that, like many of Taiwan's diplomatic allies, Swaziland is a country whose government has a questionable human rights record...
April 2018EnglishPolitics5 min read

What Lessons Should We Take Away From Panama Breaking Ties With Taiwan?

Brian Hioe
Seeing as Latin America has long been a diplomatic battleground for Taiwan and China, with China hoping to poach Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic allies and Taiwan attempting to hang onto them, news of Panama deciding to break ties with Taiwan in favor of recognizing China should not be the most surprising. But are there any lessons we can take away from this?...
EnglishInternationalJune 2017Regional Tensions8 min read