OF THE 25 countries around the world, all smallish, which choose to recognise Taiwan rather than China, almost half are in Latin America or the Caribbean.(1)In the past, their motives were often rooted in shared anti-communism. Nowadays, it is usually a matter of money. So it is with Paraguay. When Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan s president, visited the l________(A) South American republic last weekend he paid homage[1] to the origins of their friendship at a reception, going out of his way to greet the grandson of Alfredo Stroessner, Paraguay s fascistic dictator of 1954-89. Then he got out his cheque book.
In the past few years, Taiwan has given Paraguay grants of $30m for public housing and $20m for a new Congress building. Other donations—only Japan and Germany are more g________(B)—pay for scholarships. Two Taiwanese banks offered a $400m loan, making the island Paraguay s biggest bilateral creditor.