Taiwan’s long relationship with Paraguay continues to pay off
Landlocked Paraguay is the last South American country that still recognises Taiwan
NO PLACE on Earth is farther from Paraguay than Taiwan, its antipode. Yet Asunción, Paraguay’s steamy capital in the heart of South America, is full of symbols of friendship with an Asian island 20,000 km (12,400 miles) away.
In a leafy suburb looms a weathered statue of Chiang Kai-shek, who ran a Chinese government-in-exile in Taiwan until 1975. Not far away is the futuristic home of the Paraguayan Congress, built using Taiwanese funds in 2003. Just nearby is a replica of the Taipei 101 skyscraper. Unveiled in 2017 to mark 60 years of diplomatic ties, it is entwined with the national flowers of Taiwan (plum blossoms) and Paraguay (passion flowers).
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline "The blossom and the passion flower"
From the July 21st 2018 edition
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