A psychiatric hospital on Saint Lucia financed by the PRC.

Here are some reactions to the news from mainland bloggers.

In a post titled "Taiwan's petty 'diplomacy'," Xiao Yangguo sees the announcement as a DPP ploy for votes:

At the mention of Saint Lucia, my first impression was "pirates" (since Pirates of the Caribbean 4 has just come out). Under "pressure" from the mainland, Taiwan diplomacy was driven to woo the tiny country of Saint Lucia and to drop its bomb on the eve of the Economic and Cultural Forum. This was to make the blue camp look bad as well as an attempt to show off its own diplomatic "success" and to create momentum for the election. Considering it carefully, when a party descends to the point that it revels in establishing relations with Saint Lucia, then it cares nothing for national interests or a sense of honor; they are merely concerned with the election and with showing off. The DPP cannot even come up with the heroic spirit shown during the Chiang era when the US cut off relations - what has this "petty" government brought on its people?!

But in all things, tolerance! The predicament of Taiwan "diplomacy" and its shrinking international position are not due to the mainland, but rather its own pettiness. Using underhanded tactics to sustain its own fantasy is nothing more than drinking poison to quench its thirst, and at the end of the day, it's nothing but a dead-end.

In a post titled "Taiwan and Saint Lucia 'resume diplomacy' - don't take it too seriously," Zhou Peng'an writes that China should take the high road and not engage Taiwan in a contest for recognition from tiny countries:

Criticism and protest are all fine, and as a natural diplomatic reaction, this type of war of words that does not waste taxpayer money is very necessary. But if this matter is taken too seriously and flares up into a competition with one of China's local governments to rope in those small countries, then China's status as a great power gets lost.

In this particular case, you can be sure that more than 95% of the Chinese public has no idea that there is a country called Saint Lucia, much less where it is located on the globe. Looking at the 24 other countries with which Taiwan has "diplomatic relations," apart from the Vatican, which has not established diplomatic relations with China for reasons of religion rather than money, it's likely that not a single one of those countries has any significant international influence. Taiwan is willing to spend money to rope in these small countries because it is so isolated at present on the international stage. By not treating this matter especially seriously, the government of China will have the following positive effects: first, it demonstrates the confidence of the Chinese government. China possesses the ability to prevent Taiwanese independence; no matter how Taiwan searches for political space on the international stage, or how it works at substantive diplomacy, these still are just the absurd actions of a local government and cannot shake the ultimate conclusion of unification across the straits. Second, it will show off the importance of China's position on the international stage. China is a member of the UN Security Council, home to one-fifth of the world's population, and fourth largest economy in the world, so no matter how much of a ruckus Taiwan makes, influential countries will never support its entry to the UN as a normal country. By not placing particular importance on those small countries with which Taiwan has "diplomatic relations," the Chinese government conspicuously demonstrates its immovable position internationally. Third, openly competing with Taiwan to bring in those small countries is beneath the status of a great power. The conditions for Taiwan "establishing relations" with those small countries is nothing other than economic assistance, or to put it bluntly, "dollar diplomacy." And to those countries for which "milk is the mother," the Chinese government fighting with the local Taiwan government to spend money to get in good with them is like a father and son fighting to butter up the neighbors so that they'll say good things about them - they're fertilizing the fields of outsiders. Fourth, seeing Taiwan's "diplomacy" as an opponent will give other countries an excuse to coerce China, most obviously countries like the US, Japan, France, and Germany that like to place the "Taiwan card."

Let the Taiwan authorities continue to make a fuss, then; even if a number of other small countries "establish relations" with Taiwan, how can they shake the important international position of the Chinese Central Government?

At present, Taiwan's economic reliance on the mainland is increasing every year. Even if they provide economic support to those countries with which it has "diplomatic relations," this money comes out of the favorable trade balance it enjoys with the mainland. Removed from trade with the mainland, how could Taiwan have the money for "dollar diplomacy"?

Solving the Taiwan problem will ultimately rely on economics rather than military force.

In his statement, foreign ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao warned the island that if it did not return to recognizing Beijing as the government of a single China, "the government of St. Lucia will be fully responsible for the consequences incurred." Blogger Yang Zhihua has some concrete steps for China to take, in a post titled "How to address Saint Lucia's betrayal":

In December, 2006, the 82-year-old Sir John Compton came to power in Saint Lucia. He has openly expressed his desire to resume diplomatic relations with Taiwan. On 1 May, 2007, so-called diplomatic relations were formally established. For Saint Lucia's capriciousness and betrayal, I think that dollar diplomacy should not be undertaken:

First, cut off relations entirely. According to Caribbean media, Compton wishes to maintain diplomatic relations with China at the same as relations are established with Taiwan. The Chinese government should immediately announce cessation of diplomatic relations with Saint Lucia, to show to the world our determination to uphold the principle of one China and to warn small countries that they cannot eat from two bowls.

Second, "surround Wei to rescue Zhao" - hurry to establish diplomatic relations with Nicaragua and Panama to have Taiwan move one step forward but two steps back, and to suppress the arrogant bluster of the DPP - the forces of Taiwan independence can never get more votes through these means. During the general election, the president of Nicaragua openly expressed his wish to resume relations with China following the election, and to break off relations with Taiwan. We have always been a major user of the Panama canal, so our two countries' economies are closely tied together. Nicaragua and Panama both have the desire to further develop their relationship with China, and diplomatic relations should be established quickly.

Third, "kill the chicken to scare the monkeys" - impose political and economic sanctions on Saint Lucia. Saint Lucia is a volcanic island in the Caribbean with mountainous terrain measuring only 610 square kilometers. It is a small country, with a population of 170,000. Rather than using financial aid to maintain diplomatic relations with this kind of capricious small country, why not impose necessary economic and political sanctions - killing the chicken to warn the monkeys - so that other small countries will not dare to so easily betray you.

Fourth, solidify current diplomatic successes. The UN has 191 member states, and only 25 have established diplomatic relations with Taiwan - our country's diplomatic power is quite strong. However, we should also look soberly at the seesaw diplomatic struggle between Taiwan and mainland China in the Caribbean, which now threatens to spill over from Saint Lucia to the South American country of Suriname. We must be vigilant! We must cement our current diplomatic successes!