A delegation led by Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez is this morning to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) during its three-day trip in Taiwan, the government said yesterday, amid media reports that the nations’ diplomatic ties could be jeopardized by Beijing’s influence.
The Central American country with a population of about 9.4 million is one of Taiwan’s 15 diplomatic allies.
Hernandez was in Washington on Wednesday to present a report on the accomplishments of his administration before he left for Taiwan at Tsai’s invitation, his office said in a statement on Wednesday.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Hernandez, who has been in office since 2014, cannot seek re-election in the Nov. 28 presidential election.
Tsai is to meet him at the Presidential Office and hold a luncheon for the 11-person delegation before it departs tomorrow, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said in a statement yesterday.
This is Hernandez’s fourth visit to Taiwan, and his three children are studying or working in Taiwan, Chang said.
The delegation’s visit on the 80th anniversary of the nations’ ties is particularly meaningful, he added.
The countries have been working closely in areas such as the economy, trade, healthcare, education, social welfare, infrastructure, women’s empowerment, agriculture and fisheries, Chang said.
Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs Lisandro Rosales, a member of the delegation, would be awarded the Order of Brilliant Star with Special Grand Cordon, and visit the Central American Bank for Economic Integration’s Taiwan office, which opened in July, the ministry said.
The Tegucigalpa-based bank’s Taiwan office is its first outside Central America, the ministry said.
The government is closely monitoring Honduras’ upcoming presidential election, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said on Tuesday, following media reports that Honduran opposition presidential candidate Xiomara Castro vowed to build diplomatic and commercial relations with China.
The ministry has a full grasp of China’s attempts to sabotage diplomatic relations between Taiwan and its allies, Ou added.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source