For more than three decades, a quiet diplomatic compromise has allowed Taiwan to participate in Pacific Islands Forum gatherings without forcing member nations to choose sides in a larger geopolitical contest. Now, as New Zealand prepares to host the forum in Auckland, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon finds himself holding that fragile arrangement together with careful language and deliberate ambiguity. The question of whether a Taiwanese minister will be welcomed is, at its heart, a question about whether old workarounds can survive a world in which the stakes of choosing — between Beijing an