"National sovereignty" meets with powerful resistance from mainland China, which resists Taiwan's efforts to establish interstate diplomatic links, a key indicator of sovereignty. "Economic assistance," on the other hand, though an important tool in maintaining diplomatic ties, has been frequently ridiculed in Taiwan as "checkbook diplomacy."
「國家主權」指的是中共強烈打壓、我國在拓展懸繫我主權宣示的邦交國上一再受挫的惡劣環境，「經濟援助」則為我國維繫邦誼的重要籌碼，卻也一直被外界譏為「金錢外交」或「凱子外交」。