Times Of Swaziland: TAIWAN VS CHINA DEBATE TAIWAN VS CHINA DEBATE ================================================================================ The Editor on 13/09/2018 03:43:00 Sabelo Gabriel Nxumalo makes sense in his Taiwan versus China debate letter published on September 4, 2018. Taiwan is the Kingdom of Eswatini’s loyal friend and perfect partner in advancing prosperity and sustainable national development. It is also a country where freedom and democracy are cherished, as is informed in the spirited debate. But the key word is informed. It is true China’s financial promises glitter like gold in the midday sun. Shiny infrastructure projects offered at seemingly below-cost prices are irresistable. They benefit the people and position the recipient nation on the fast track to the GDP promised land. But not all that glitters is gold. Highways, ports and railways built in ‘partnership’ with Chinese firms quickly become unaffordable burdens. In no time, they are handed back to China and take on a new function as conduits for efficiently exporting a country’s natural resources and importing low-quality goods and cheap labour. There is no question that China’s debt-trap diplomacy, as African, Balkan and South Asian countries have quickly come to discover, is a one-way ticket to poverty and servitude. It is also a surefire way of surrendering sovereignty forever. Africa and its people are celebrated the world over for casting off the shackles of colonialism. It would be a tragedy to turn back time for nothing more than the promise of a so-called free lunch. Jeremy H S Liang Taiwan Ambassador to the Kingdom of Eswatini