Guatemala: Still Taiwan’s Friend?

Abstract

Speculation of government defection to the PRC has persisted in all of the Central American Republics except Guatemala where diplomatic loyalty to Taiwan has apparently remained steadfast (Keegan, 2006b; Stephenson, 2010; Young, 2007a). This interesting situation was the primary reason for Guatemala’s selection as a case study, and it was felt that this country would bring further clarity to our understanding of the competition for allies between China and Taiwan, and the role of public diplomacy within it. In the case of Guatemala the main question was whether Taiwan had, and was continuing to, neglect the impor­tance of public sentiment, as had been the case in Costa Rica and El Salvador. If this was so then it would indicate the lack of correlation between the security of a diplomatic relationship and the delivery style of Taiwan’s public diplomacy to its allies. However, if it was found that Taiwan’s public diplomacy had greater public focus in Guatemala then explanations for this would have to be uncovered. The Guatemalan case study can therefore be linked to Haiti, where, in Chapter 2, it was documented that Taiwan has been more inclined toward public assis­tance in the aftermath of the major earthquake of 2010 as the country’s governmental structure was unclear.