Another one bites the dust:
Guy
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Kiribati
Literally who? Link for the lazy. Bye, you won’t be missed since no one knew you existed until now.
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The soap opera:
Kiribati President Taneti Mamau and certain members of the ruling party have long entertained highly unrealistic expectations regarding China and have engaged in frequent exchanges with China since President Mamau took office in 2016. Recently, the Chinese government has taken advantage of fisheries and other commercial investments to establish a presence in Kiribati, penetrating political circles and extending its influence. President Mamau has also requested massive financial assistance from Taiwan to purchase commercial airplanes. While Taiwan is willing to assist Kiribati in developing civil infrastructure for the benefit of its people, aid for the acquisition of airplanes for commercial purposes is not consistent with the spirit of Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Act. The R.O.C. government, therefore, after assessing Taiwan’s financial capabilities, suggested assistance in the form of a preferential commercial loan, but this was rejected by Kiribati, which insisted that all the necessary funds be provided in the form of donation. According to information obtained by Taiwan, the Chinese government has already promised to provide full funds for the procurement of several airplanes and commercial ferries, thus luring Kiribati into switching diplomatic relations.
Good riddance then
I had a student from Kiribati in my class this morning. First time ever. Probably the last, now.
It’s pronounced Kiribass. Strange.
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Probably China made. ARJ21
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Pity, Kiribati has one of the coolest flag out there…
Yep, at least it is at the beginning of the school year.
I say that the best sign that they are breaking up with Taiwan is that the allies send the sons and daughters of the president/ministers/legislators.
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She managed to land free tuition fees and other benefits just in time.
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Maybe they should have chosen their separate Taiwan seat in the UN 50 years ago. But holding on to the “one china” thing has come back to massively bite them in the ass…
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Thinking about it some more, there’s a degree of irony in a group of islands that are about to get submerged allying with the world’s highest CO2 emitter.
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china is its own reality its a more accurate statement.
maybe China bought all their carbon trading rights for 99 years 
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That should increase once they get the shiny aircraft they’ve been promised
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Chinese people’s feelings were hurt once again. Raspberry Pi Foundation says Taiwan is a country.
Another one bites the dust—Nicaragua is gone.
From the article linked below:
According to CNN, Nicaragua’s Foreign Minister Denis Moncada announced on television on Thursday that his country was breaking diplomatic relations with Taiwan and will stop having any contact or official relationship with Taipei.
“The People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing all of China and Taiwan is an undoubted part of the Chinese territory,” he added.
Don’t slam the door on your way out. 
Guy
Again… same leader did this twice now.
Nicaragua established diplomatic relations of the nationalist government of Republican China in 1930 but maintained relations after the central government of the Republic of China retreated to Taiwan after declaring the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. After the Sandinista National Liberation Front took power in 1979, Nicaragua recognized the PRC on 7 December 1985 until 9 November 1990 when FSLN was defeated and resumed relations with the ROC, which continued under Daniel Ortega’s presidency since 2007. On 9 December 2021, Nicaragua resumed relations with the PRC.
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Not many will hear the door slam.
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I suppose now we can revisit the scenario when the ROC-on-Taiwan finally gets to zero formal diplomatic allies, enabling the Taiwan / Formosan Republic to rise out of the ashes of this burned out shell. 
Guy
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Focusing on ‘formal diplomatic allies’ is probably not the best metric