The first thing that a visitor to the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs sees is an archway flanked by two sets of flags. On the left are 12 flags belonging to Taiwan’s official diplomatic allies—Belize, Paraguay, Guatemala, Haiti, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Eswatini, Tuvalu, Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Holy See. On the right are 13 flags belonging to Taiwan’s unofficial but arguably far more important partners—the United States, the European