Nicaragua cuts ties with Taiwan in favour of Beijing

Nicaragua has become the latest country to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of China. Taiwan said it was "deeply saddened", adding that Nicaragua had "disregarded [their] many years of friendship". The decision was widely praised by China, who demands that any country that wants diplomatic relations with it must cut existing ties with Taipei. It comes as the US State Department on Friday called for democracies to "expand engagement with Taiwan". Beijing sees Taiwan as a breakaway province to be reunified with the mainland one day. However, Taiwan sees itself as a democratically-governed, independent country, though it has never formally declared independence from the mainland. Taiwan's list of international allies has dwindled from 21 down to 14 since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in May 2016. "Nicaragua today breaks diplomatic relations with Taiwan and ceases to have any contact or official relationship," said Nicaragua's foreign ministry, adding that it "recognises that there is only one single China". Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying praised Nicaragua's decision, calling it the "right choice ... in line with the global trend" adding that it "has people's support".