Panama's Chinese, West Indian and American communities all established themselves here in the middle of the 19th century, with the construction of the Panama Railroad. The Chinese community has undergone much growth since mainland China reopened the doors for emigration in 1976.

Panama has long had good relations with Taiwan, which means that Beijing refuses to have formal diplomatic relations with us. Panama's Chinese community is split over what the country should do about this impasse.

Panama's census takers don't take figures on race, national origin or ethnicity, so there aren't any good figures on precisely how many Chinese or Taiwanese citizens, or Panamanians of Chinese descent, there are in the country. It seems that between five and ten percent of Panama is of Chinese ancestry.

One of the landmarks acknowledging Panama's Chinese legacy is this statue in Paitilla, of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who founded the Republic of China. Both Taiwan and China respect Dr. Sun's memory, though this particular monument was donated and is maintained by the Taiwanese.

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