Business Insider
Date: August 19, 2018
By: Farah Master, Reuters
A view of Palau Rock Islands seen from Palau Central Hotel in Koror, Palau August 5, 2018. Picture taken August 5, 2018.
REUTERS/Farah Master
- China believes Taiwan is part of China and wants the world to agree.
- China is putting pressure on Taiwan’s 18 diplomatic allies to turn their back on the island nation.
- Beijing last year banned Chinese people from visiting the Pacific island of Palau, one of Taiwan’s allies.
- The ban has led to a steep drop off in Chinese business and investment in Palau.
KOROR, Palau (Reuters) – Empty hotel rooms, idle tour boats, and shuttered travel agencies reveal widening fissures in the tiny Pacific nation of Palau, which is caught in an escalating diplomatic tug-of-war between China and Taiwan.
Late last year, China effectively banned tour groups to the idyllic tropical archipelago, branding it an illegal destination due to its lack of diplomatic status.
As China extends its influence across the Pacific, Palau is one of Taipei’s 18 remaining allies worldwide and is under pressure to switch allegiances, officials and business people there say. [FULL STORY]