There are odd couples. Then there’s Taiwan and Paraguay.
The high-tech island nation and its rural, landlocked South American ally sit on opposite sides of the earth.
United in 1957 by two military rulers — Chiang Kai-shek and Alfredo Stroessner — driven by anti-Communist fervor, this improbable duo have been inseparable ever since.
Today, however, Paraguay finds itself a member of a shrinking global club.
China has flexed its economic muscle to force countries, including Paraguay, to break ties with Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory.
Paraguay today is the only South American country to maintain relations with Taiwan and has emerged as one of the most anti-China nations in Latin America.
That stance has bought the good will of the United States and made the country something of a darling of the Trump administration as it challenges China in the region.
