The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said that diplomatic ties with Honduras remain firm in spite of the Central American nation's president recently saying he would try to shore up ties with all nations, including China.
MOFA spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) said the media had blown Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya's comments out of proportion when he said Tegucigalpa would not rule out establishing closer ties with Beijing.
"The comment was made during Zelaya's visit to Costa Rica and the local reporters have read too much into the remarks," Yeh said, stressing that nothing Zelaya said was contradictory to what he has always said in the past.
Honduras, Yeh noted, has always adhered to the policy that it welcomes the establishment of stronger ties with any country, including China, under the condition that its relations with Taiwan remain unchanged.
Honduras newspaper La Prensa said Zelaya had hinted on a private visit to Costa Rica that his nation could establish diplomatic relations with Beijing. The paper quoted him as saying: "We have the intention of opening relations with all countries in the world, even China."
Taiwanese ambassador to Honduras Lai Chien-chung (賴建中) told the Central News Agency that Zelaya's commitment to Taiwan remains solid.
"Zelaya was the first head of state to express his support for Taiwan's independence and recognized Taiwan's contributions to the Central American region last September at the UN Assembly [in New York]," he said.
During President Chen Shui-bian's (
In other developments, the ministry declined to comment on speculation of possible Taiwan-Barbados ties, except to say Taiwan seeks to establish relations with any country that upholds democratic values and recognizes its sovereignty.
Talk of Barbados switching allegiance from Beijing to Taipei came after the Caribbean nation elected Taiwan-friendly candidate David Thompson as its new prime minister last week.
During his campaign, Thompson promised to break 30-year ties with China once he entered office.
Thompson's rival, outgoing prime minister Arthur Owen, has accused Taiwan of meddling in the election by providing a large cash donation to Thompson's Democratic Labour Party (DLP).
Owen and his Barbados Labour Party said that Barbados' intelligence services had reported that there had been frequent contact between the DLP and Taipei, via St. Kitts, and said that the campaign finance came after Thompson made his promise to switch diplomatic ties.
Taiwan has categorically denied the accusations.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
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