Another own goal for Chinese diplomacy, this time in Brazil. The Chinese embassy there sent a letter telling members of parliament not to congratulate Tsai Ing-wen on her recent inauguration. It was leaked, spawning the #VivaTaiwan hashtag now trending. https://twitter.com/PauloMartins10/status/1265038976617984002">https://twitter.com/PauloMart...

. @iingwen& #39;s social media team has taken advantage of yet another case of Chinese diplomatic overreach to boost her exposure in Brazil via #VivaTaiwan https://twitter.com/iingwen/status/1265185410436612097?s=19">https://twitter.com/iingwen/s...

Praising Taiwan has increasingly become a proxy for sovereignty in the face of PRC pressure. People may know little about Taiwan, but they know it stands up to China. When PRC belittles a country& #39;s sovereignty/pride, it generates sympathy for Taiwan (see also #MilkTeaAlliance).

Inversely, if your country& #39;s not-so-democratically-elected government requires China& #39;s support to stay in power, Taiwan might be so taboo that you have a nationwide ban on publicly displaying Taiwan& #39;s ROC flag (see Cambodia). https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-sen-bans-taiwan-flag-from-cambodia-124609/">https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-...