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• 1 media/Haitian-Taiwanese Flags.jpg 2022-03-08T09:46:00-08:00 Haitian-Taiwanese Economic Relations 20 Introduction plain 1133221 2022-03-09T22:56:18-08:00 Haiti and Taiwan have a very unique and intricate economic relationship. Most of the news today surrounding the two countries has been about Haiti’s political recognition of Taiwan (formally the Republic of China) instead of China (formally the People’s Republic of China), but what does this mean for their economies? On the following pages I will detail how and why Taiwan prioritizes their relations with Haiti despite the fact that they are one of, if not the poorest country in the Americas. Their ongoing battle with China over political recognition and sovereignty has greatly benefited Haiti gifting them the unique ability as a poor country to leverage offers of aid and assistance between China and Taiwan. While this may seem extremely beneficial to Haiti, it doesn't explain why Haiti has been on the receiving end of foreign aid for as long as I can remember. Since inception, the country has been defined by its extreme poverty and corruption which has prevented it from gaining any substantial progress in the world economy since. Taiwan on the other hand, was able to work its way out of poverty in the mid-twentieth century and hasn’t looked back since. Their astonishing growth has been dubbed the “East Asian Miracle” by several economists and scholars (Rodrik 56). Why was Taiwan able to do what Haiti couldn’t and still hasn’t? Can the same underlying principles and techniques that resulted in Taiwan’s rapid expansion be applied to the Haitian case? These are the key questions this section of the website will aim to answer. I’ll start by detailing where the two countries are today, then dive into their economic pasts to understand how they got here and conclude with an analysis of whether or not Haiti will be able follow the Taiwanese footsteps to sustained economic growth and prosperity. 
  
  To kick things off, the video below shows a Taiwanese delegation arriving in Haiti on a diplomatic visit in 2019.