Honduran President Xiomara Castro wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that she had instructed her foreign ministry to establish relations with Beijing, which would require severing ties with Taipei. Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduardo Enrique Reina said the decision was “pragmatic,” telling the Guardian it was driven by the country’s US$20 billion in external and internal debt. The newspaper said the announcement came shortly after Honduras said it was negotiating with Beijing over construction of a new dam.
Castro’s decision was criticized in Taiwan and Honduras, with Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) saying the move would harm a decades-long friendship, and urging Castro not to let Honduras fall into China’s debt trap.
Wu’s warning is not without merit. The Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty news service in August last year said that China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) “has left it with a list of risky debtors around the world including Argentina, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Venezuela, Zambia and Iran.” Pakistan now owes China US$77.3 billion in debt, it said.
When countries default on their BRI loans, China can take over ports, mines and infrastructure, which it has done on many occasions in other places. However, with so many non-performing loans piling up, China is facing a major debt crisis. It is facing a crucial inflection point after nearly 10 years of runaway lending under the guise of the BRI that has been exacerbated by rising inflation and other factors, and “Beijing could be looking to streamline and scale back its hallmark initiative,” the news service said.
On Jan. 16, a Forbes report said that China is facing its highest level of debt in the 27 years since Beijing first began to track such statistics. “China’s debt overhang far exceeds the burdens facing the United States. As of the middle of last year, China’s relative debt burden stood 40 percent higher than America’s,” it said.
It is understandable that Honduras — which the CIA World Factbook describes as the second-poorest country in Central America — would turn to China out of desperation. However, given China’s debt burden, it is unclear how much Beijing would be willing to lend Honduras in the long term. Even if Honduras secures more loans, it would likely be unable to repay them, which would threaten its sovereignty and put even more burden on its people.
Former Honduran ambassador to Taiwan Rafael Sierra on Tuesday wrote on Twitter that trade with Taiwan has been favorable to his country because of Taiwanese demand for melons, shrimp, coffee and other Honduran products. He also cited Costa Rica’s experience after it switched ties to Beijing, saying that China’s larger market does not necessarily result in more demand for Central American products.
Meanwhile, Honduran farmers who receive technical assistance with agriculture and aquaculture would face an uncertain future if the Taipei-run International Cooperation and Development Fund were to withdraw from the country, he said.
The loss of ties with Honduras could harm the Central American country more than Taiwan, and the heaviest impact would be felt by the common Honduran. This is one reason Taiwan should strive to salvage the diplomatic relationship, which Wu said it is committed to doing.
However, Taiwan must be cautious about throwing money at an economically struggling country in a bid to retain ties. It would be foolhardy to engage China in a bidding war over an ally. Such a hollow relationship would be of no benefit to anyone.
Even if Taiwan were not recognized by any country, it would continue to be self-governing. Its diplomatic relationships must be based on mutual respect and shared values. Taiwan’s focus should be on strengthening economic, military, educational and cultural exchanges with like-minded countries, whether they are allies or not.
Let’s begin with the bottom line. The sad truth of the matter is that Beijing has trampled on its solemn pledge to grant Hong Kong a great deal of autonomy for at least fifty years. In so doing, the PRC ignored a promise Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) made to both Great Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the wider world back in the early 1980s. This was at a time when Beijing, under Deng and his successors, appeared to be seeking an equitable accommodation with the West. I remain puzzled by China’s recent policy shift. Was it because Hong Kong was perceived
French police have confirmed that China’s overseas “police service stations” were behind cyberattacks against a Taiwanese Mandarin Learning Center in the European nation. This is another example of Beijing bullying Taiwanese organizations, as well as a show of contempt for other countries’ sovereignty and for international laws and norms. L’Encrier Chinois, a Chinese-language school that opened in 2005 in Paris, became the second Taiwanese Mandarin Learning Center in France in 2021. The school was targeted by at least three cyberattacks last year, which were reported to French police, who discovered that the attacks originated from China’s overseas police stations. Overseas
A photograph taken on Tuesday of Taoyuan City Government officials bowing to an East African baboon that was fatally shot the previous day provides an absurd snapshot to a sorry farce that led to an avoidable tragedy. The photograph showed the officials in front of a plastic container draped in a purple cloth on which a bouquet of flowers had been placed. It was a perfect example of a death ritual performed for the benefit of the living, not the dead. The gesture was worthless for any other reason than to distract from personal blame and political guilt. It contrasts with
A Taichung high-school student recently committed suicide after allegedly being bullied and abused by his school’s head of student affairs, military discipline office head, and other disciplinary and security officers. The Humanistic Education Foundation accused seven staff members at the school of picking on the boy after he was found bringing beer and cigarettes on campus in his first year at the school. They allegedly started to conduct body checks and searches of his bag, vilify him in public and pressure him into admitting wrongdoings committed by other students using verbal threats. They allegedly handed him two demerits and nine