There is no doubt that Taiwan has a long history of cooperation and friendship with Latin America and the Caribbean. From the 17 countries that still recognize the Republic of China (Taiwan) as an independent country, nine are in the region.
That is why there is no surprise that the area has been aggressively targeted by China in the past few years, and through economic incentives — such as loans and the promise of access to its giant market — Beijing has been able to lure away some of Taiwan’s allies, starting with Panama in 2017, and the Dominican Republican and El Salvador last year.
However, there are several groups in Taiwan that are trying to strengthen the friendly relationship between Taiwan and its allies, such as the Honduran Association in Taiwan and the Belizean, Guatemalan and Paraguayan student associations.
Probably the most significant of these groups is Latinos Taiwan, which holds events in different Taiwanese cities. The group was founded by Peruvian Jorge Luis Chocano Castro while he was working for the Honduran embassy in Taipei in 2003.
Its main objective at the time was to unify the Latin American and Caribbean community, assist them with legal counsel, give them support and get close to the Spanish-speaking Taiwanese community — some of whom had lived in Latin America — and give them a space to interact.
With time, its objectives moved beyond that to also help with cultural promotion, giving the community a platform to show their talents, and improve tourism between Taiwan and other nations.
Through its activities, it tries to let the Taiwanese community know that Latin America and the Caribbean are more than just negative headlines. They have rich cultures filled with talent.
Although it is true that some nations might not be as developed as others, we are warm people filled with vision and desire to show the world what we are capable of doing.
Another objective of such groups is the promotion of the Spanish language.
Taiwan had historic Spanish influence, as it was a Spanish colony from 1616 to 1643. According to the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan, about 2,500 students pursued a Spanish major at Taiwanese universities last year, with an estimated 2,000 more taking it as a second foreign-language course.
Latinos Taiwan hopes to help increase this number by getting more Taiwanese interested in the Spanish language and Latin American culture.
There are only five Taiwanese universities that offer a degree in Spanish, even though there are more than 100 institutions of higher education in the nation and Spanish is one of the most common languages in the world, with about 548 million speakers.
The cultural activities held by Latinos Taiwan have noticeably improved the friendship between the Latin American and Caribbean community by providing a space to meet each other and learn about the differences between cultures, as well as to enhance collaboration between students. They have also helped strengthen diplomatic relationships between countries.
The festivals and cultural events provide an opportunity for diplomatic officials to interact with each other and cultivate their relationships, but they also give Taiwanese an opportunity to get to know the real Latin American and Caribbean community.
As the founder of Latinos Taiwan put it: “Without a deep, sincere and mutual knowledge of each other, Taiwan, Latin America and the Caribbean are friends only on paper. If we want to feel like true brothers, we have to get to know each other.”
Its festivals have caught the attention of the diplomatic community. Carnival Taipei, an event held periodically at Yuanshan MRT Station in Taipei, has been visited by different ambassadors and heads of commercial offices, such as Honduran Ambassador Rafael Fernando Sierra Quesada, Guatemalan Ambassador Olga Maria Aguja Zuniga, Mexican Representative Martin Torres and Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, such as Department of Latin American and the Caribbean Affairs Assistant Director-General Francisca Chang (張幼慈).
At one such event, Chang talked about her admiration for the different stalls, and for the passion and cultural diversity of Latin America and the Caribbean.
“In recent years, Taiwan and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean — on the basis of mutually beneficial cooperation — have dedicated themselves to strengthening their substantive relationship in the cultural and commercial sphere,” she said in a speech. “These areas reinforce each other; that is why we love to experience this warm and optimistic way of life of the people of Latin America and the Caribbean through music, dance, coffee, agricultural products and crafts.”
“We hope that through an intense exchange between both parties, we will create a greater benefit hand in hand,” she added.
She also mentioned that Taiwan has a multicultural society, quoting President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) remark that “Taiwan must go to meet the world and the world must approach Taiwan.”
Latinos Taiwan is also working to bring photographers, musicians and artists to promote cultural exchanges. It is to hold a festival in Taichung on May 25 and another in Tainan at a later date.
It also collaborated to organize the Latin American Soccer Cup, a tournament that takes place at the end of May of every year in Taipei. The event is mainly comprised of teams from Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, but in the past few years has included nations such as Spain, France and, of course, Taiwan.
Latinos Taiwan also has a radio program, thanks to International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The program on ICRT plays traditional and popular music from different Latin and Caribbean nations, and holds contests.
It is no secret that Taiwan has given a lot of support to its allies, which is why the Latin American and Caribbean communities need to give back a little appreciation for the many opportunities that this beautiful nation has given to us, and do their part to make sure that the beautiful friendship between our countries and Taiwan continues for many decades to come.
Juan Fernando Herrera Ramos is a Honduran lawyer residing in Taiwan.
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