A Test for Taiwan’s Diplomatic Wisdom: Crisis in Nicaragua

Nicaraguan citizens living in Taipei have been gathering for the last three months to show support to protesters in Nicaragua, after the government led by President Daniel Ortega announced a series of reforms to the country’s social security system that would have increased taxes and decreases benefits across the board to avoid the system’s bankruptcy.  

Since the protests started, the country has been economically paralyzed, national strikes have taken place and the Nicaraguan government’s repressive actions had left at least 212 people dead by June 19, 1,337 people injured and 507 people deprived of their freedom by June 6, according to a report made by the human rights arm of the Organization of American States.

Nicaragua is one of the 18 countries in the world that maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and Taiwan is Nicaragua’s top four destination for exports. How could this crisis that is taking place on the other side of the world affect Taiwan? And how should Taiwan respond from a diplomatic standpoint?

International human rights crisis

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) visited Nicaragua in May, a few weeks after the protests started, and published a report about how human rights have been violated by the Nicaraguan National Police and paramilitary forces supporting President Daniel Ortega. In the report the IACHR stated:

“The Commission urges the State of Nicaragua to cease repressing social protest immediately. In this regard, the State should urgently adopt the measures needed to guarantee the free and full exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and political participation.”

After this statement, other major international organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union and Amnesty International all have condemned this situation as a socio-political crisis and urged the government to respect the human rights of the Nicaraguan citizens.

Woman standing and waving the Nicaraguan flag near a burning barricade

In response the Nicaraguan government denied all these accusations and blamed the protesters for being manipulated by other political parties inside and even outside its borders.

Taiwan’s role in the ongoing crisis.

Nicaragua is one of 18 nations in the world that formally recognizes the Republic of China government ruling Taiwan. As is well known, the People’s Republic of China is engaged in a diplomatic war with persuade Taiwan’s allies into de-recognizing Taiwan and establishing formal ties with China instead, often by offering large financial incentives to these small nations. Taiwan, in return, offers financial aid packages to keep up.

Taiwan has offered economic help to Nicaragua throughout all these years of diplomatic relations. In 2014 Taiwan donated US$ 30 million to help the Central American ally rebuild  the National Stadium, and it also helped the country draft a blueprint for the stadium’s construction. The donation was later used, however, to help the country recover from a devastating flood in 2014. In the recent protests the Nicaraguan National Police was accused to have set snipers in this very stadium order to attack a nearby protest that was organized to honor all the mothers of the people who have died from the protests. In this event nine more people died and a few civil society organizations in Nicaragua started to question Taiwan’s position with regard to the protests.

In a private meeting at the Taiwanese Embassy in Nicaragua between the Organization of the Civil Society (OCS) and the Advisor for the Taiwanese Embassy, Mr. Giovanni Yeh, the OCS informed the Taiwanese Embassy that as a result of the protests that started on April 18, 2018, this sport facility (National Stadium) has been a concentration point of pro-government groups that have been undertaking activities that are not sports related. Mr. Yeh shared with the OCS how the money for the donation was distributed and explained that it was later used to help the victims of the natural disaster.

Taiwan and Nicaragua have very close diplomatic ties, but is this bond that Taiwan has with Nicaragua with the people, or with the government? This might be a breaking point that could redefine the diplomatic relation of both countries. Even though Taiwan has not been directly involved with the conflict, the above example illustrates how Taiwan’s diplomatic activities in Nicaragua will sooner or later be affected by the protests and may even be implicated in some way.

In 2017 Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen visited Nicaragua after an invitation from the President Daniel Ortega to attend his third consecutive inauguration ceremony, which was highly criticized as a farce. Since then, Nicaragua has been undergoing a socio-political transformation, which begs the question if Taiwan can stay silent, or side with the current regime in Nicaragua by default, when the majority of the people in Nicaragua are protesting against its own government.

Understandably, however, condemning the Nicaraguan government in this socio-political crisis could also mean antagonizing a regime that has so far kept up formal diplomatic recognition of Taiwan, risking a diplomatic reversal to China. In a year during which two other allies, Panama and Burkina Faso, had quickly broken ties with Taiwan, it is an even more sensitive issue to be sure losing the support from the current government of Nicaragua in the near future.

But while the Taiwanese government could claim that it is not involving itself with the political and social issues of another sovereign nation, the Nicaraguan people who are dissatisfied with the government may very well see the inaction as a tacit endorsement of the government’s position, a sign of betrayal for all Nicaraguans who, after this crisis passes, will remember those who  supported them and those who did not.

Conclusion

On June 18th, the OAS condemned the acts of violence in Nicaragua and rejected a proposed resolution presented by the government of Nicaragua. Nicaraguans have held major protests in the last three months that have counted with the support of thousands of people including the private business sector, the LGBT community, the feminist community, the farmer community and the catholic church.

Numerous times, Taiwan has showed itself willing to be a promoter of human rights and a defender of democracy, which is the very essence of the values that sets Taiwan apart from its neighbor China. This is part of the reason why the world sees Taiwanese society and its government as a thriving democratic nation worthy of international attention. Until now the Taiwanese embassy in Nicaragua has not yet made any formal statements about the crisis that is occurring in its ally nation, but perhaps it is time to ask how much is the Nicaraguan crisis worth the attention of Taiwan?

(Feature photo by Mauricio Sandigo Peralta)