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• 1 media/Haitian-Taiwanese Presidents.jpg 2022-03-08T09:51:22-08:00 Current Economic Relationship Between Haiti and Taiwan 12 image_header 2022-03-10T10:32:45-08:00 As I mentioned on the previous page, relations between Haiti and Taiwan are very complex and can at times involve more politics than economics. Without diving too deep into the political nightmare that is Taiwan and China, neither of the two countries accept diplomatic relations with countries that recognize the other (Dou and Chen). Thus Haiti, like the rest of the world was forced to choose between the two and they are currently only one out of fourteen that sided with Taiwan. Given China’s rapid growth since the turn of the century and their growing relevance in the global economy and politics, it’s somewhat curious as to why Haiti has chosen to stick with Taiwan. In 2018 Haiti's island neighbors, the Dominican Republic, and 3 other nations ended diplomatic relations with Taiwan so they could accept massive aid and trade packages from China. Since then, China has upped the ante and gone on record with Haitian newspapers claiming, “Beijing could provide free assistance, interest-free loans, and concessional loans…if Haiti upheld the ‘One China Principle’” (Strong). The Chinese government also said they, “…would be willing to establish official diplomatic relations and improve cooperation in…politics, trade, public hygiene, and education” contingent upon acceptance of the ‘One China Principle’ (Strong). It’s almost impossible to understate the importance a rich and generous ally would be to struggling Haiti, and Chinese offers will only get stronger as more and more countries switch recognition in favor of them. It's completely plausible that sometime in the near future Haitian politicians will have to put the prosperity of their people first and finally choose China over Taiwan.
  
  In addition to my commentary, the video offers several examples of Chinese aid in the region.
  
  While Chinese attempts to gain Haitian recognition have included rewards in the form of aid in recent years, it wasn’t always the case. In the early 2000s, China leveraged its position as permanent UN Security Council member to veto a joint peacekeeping mission in Haiti (Erickson and Chen 85). The UN aid came at a terrible time in Haitian national politics due to the corruption and civil unrest during President Jean Bernard Aristiside’s second tenure in office (Erickson and Chen 86).  China was clearly trying to use its status within the UN to “pry Haiti away from Taiwan’s grasp” and this may be a reason Haiti has chosen to stay with Taiwan all these years (Erickson and Chen 85). While the benefits of being a Chinese ally are undoubtedly better than the Taiwanese, being a Chinese enemy is equally as terrible. Haitians might fear that the loans and aid from China will only last until Taiwan falls, and then they’ll resort to extreme measures like they did in 2004 to get their way. 
  
  Despite the Chinese meddling, Haiti and Taiwan celebrated 65 years of diplomatic relations last April ("Taiwan, Haiti Celebrate..."). Their partnership has stood the test of time and it seems that there’ll have to be a massive shift in Haitian foreign policy for them to move over to the Chinese side of the table. While Taiwan doesn’t have the resources to compete with China on a global political scale, they have made concerted efforts to ensure the happiness of their Haitian partners. During a celebratory video message to Haiti, “Foreign Minister Jaushieh (Joseph) Wu praised the strength of bilateral relations… evidenced by a raft of ongoing cooperative projects such as the establishment of electrical grid transmission and solar energy systems” ("Taiwan, Haiti Celebrate..."). In addition to the electric grid upgrade, the Taiwanese government also donated, “280,000 face masks as part of pandemic relief” in 2021 and continues to work with Haiti to combat the effects of the Coronavirus (Dou and Chen). While these efforts are not as substantial as those proposed by the Chinese, when combined with the historically stable relations between the two and periodic Chinese aggression, they are enough to continue the Haitian-Taiwanese partnership.
  
  See Taiwanese officials on the aforementioned bilateral trade mission to Haiti below.