Honduras would welcome another visit by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and would arrange a special tour of the Mayan Copan ruins for her, Honduran Ambassador to Taiwan Rafael Fernando Sierra Quesada said.
Tsai was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez on his re-election, symbolizing the nations’ strong ties, despite Beijing’s efforts to lure away Taiwan’s Central American allies, Sierra told media on Thursday.
Tsai on Wednesday delivered her congratulations in a video conference call, sending regards on behalf of the government and people of Taiwan to Hernandez, who was on Dec. 17 declared the winner of his nation’s November elections amid claims of fraud by the opposition.
Panama, one of Taiwan’s olders allies, in 2016 switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, triggering speculation of a domino effect in Latin America and the Caribbean, where 11 of the nation’s remaining 20 diplomatic allies are located.
Tsai last visited the region in January 2016, when she toured Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Asked to comment on media speculation that Tsai is likely to visit Central America again early this year to cement ties, Sierra said he was not aware of any such arrangement, but that Honduras would love to welcome her again.
If Tsai does visit again, he would arrange for her to tour Copan, one of the most spectacular sites to see ruins from the ancient Mayan civilization, Sierra said.
Sierra said he hoped Tsai would plant a tree at the ruins, as Japanese Princess Sayako did in 2003.
On the issue of enhancing bilateral ties, Sierra said that Taiwan and Honduras should work together for the benefit of both nations.
Since he took office as ambassador in 2015, he has been pushing for closer bilateral trade and, as a result, Honduran exports to Taiwan have tripled in the past two-and-a-half years from US$44 million to US$102 million, Sierra said.
“We do not want money from Taiwan, but rather something that both countries can benefit from,” he said.
For instance, if Taiwan would help to improve agricultural technology in Honduras, produce could be sold in Taiwan at a better price, he said.
Taiwan would benefit from such an approach, because it could import food at a better price, while Honduras would profit from Taiwan’s training of its farmers to improve production, Sierra said.
The first batch of Honduran sweet melons produced under this model is to arrive in Taiwan later this month after the government approves their importation, Sierra said.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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