The NZ Herald today picks up on one of the issues that The Hive has been suggesting deserves much closer attention by the New Zealand media - the competition between Taiwan and China in the Pacific and the potentially destablilising effect economic assistance from China and Taiwan can have in fragile societies. Today Dev Nadkarni looks at the implications of KMT (Chinese National Party) rule in Taiwan for Taiwan's aid policy in the Pacific.
While we applaud the fact that the Herald is running this article, we think that the author is overstating the potential extent of reconciliation between a KMT Government and China. And we remind readers that the amount of bribery and corruption inspired by Taiwan in the Pacific was just as great under the last KMT Government as the current DPP Government. So don't expect radical change in the Pacific either.
