Taiwan and Burkina Faso break diplomatic relations amid China pressure

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Taiwan has broken relations with Burkina Faso after the African nation said it had cut diplomatic ties with the self-ruled island, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said on Thursday.

Wu expressed regret at the decision, and added that Taiwan cannot compete with China’s financial resources.

China says the island has no right to formal ties with any foreign country.

Taiwan and China have competed for influence internationally for decades, often dangling generous aid packages in front of poorer nations.

Burkina Faso is the second country to abandon Taiwan within weeks. The Dominican Republic switched recognition to Beijing earlier this month, leaving the island with only 18 diplomatic allies around the world.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said mainland China’s moves follow the island’s “recent progress on economic and security ties with the US and other like-minded countries”.

“[Mainland] China has touched Taiwan society’s bottom line. We will no longer tolerate this but will be more determined to reach out to the world,” Tsai said.

She added that Taiwan would not engage in dollar diplomacy – showering prospective allies with aid money – in competition with the mainland.

It was not immediately clear if Burkina Faso and Beijing would establish diplomatic relations but Wu said it could only be “sooner or later” and that “everyone knows [mainland] China is the only factor”.

In Beijing, the foreign ministry said in a statement that it approved of Burkina Faso’s decision.

“We welcome Burkina Faso joining in China-Africa friendly cooperation as soon as possible on the basis of the one-China principle,” said spokesperson Lu Kang.

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Chief Assignment editor is Oleg Siziakov

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