Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday left for Honduras via the US, saying that the visit shows Taiwan’s commitment to improving its relationship with the Central American ally.
Lai is leading a delegation on behalf of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to attend the inauguration of Honduran president-elect Xiomara Castro. Lai is to return on Saturday.
Speaking at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport before departure, Lai said that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the delegation is traveling to Honduras to congratulate Castro and her incoming government, which shows Taiwan’s commitment to boosting bilateral ties and its support for the Central American nation.
Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei Times
He said the delegation would also donate medical aid to Honduras to help it fight the pandemic, without providing details.
“We will use concrete action and specific measures to show our support for deeper ties and the new government,” he said, adding that bilateral ties would continue based on pragmatism and reciprocity.
Describing Honduras as a key Central American ally for Taiwan, Lai said the two countries had gone through difficulties, and defied threats and enticements during eight decades of formal ties, while maintaining close and amicable relations.
Lai, who is to meet Castro today, said he would have “interactions and exchanges” with “leaders and deputy leaders” of allies and “friendly countries,” although he did not mention US Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also to attend the inauguration.
This is the first time that Lai is traveling overseas in an official capacity since taking office in May 2020.
Lai is to stop over in Los Angeles and San Francisco on the way to and from Tegucigalpa respectively, the Presidential Office said.
He is to spend more time in the US than in Honduras, his itinerary shows.
During the stopovers, he is to speak with US officials and politicians, as well as representatives of overseas Taiwanese communities, by telephone or videoconference, the office said.
Castro’s victory in the presidential election on Nov. 28 last year made her the first female president of Honduras, which established diplomatic ties with the Republic of China in 1941.
Castro, 62, is the wife of former Honduran president Jose Manuel Zelaya. Her victory had raised concerns in Taipei, as Castro had said during her election campaign that she would switch diplomatic recognition to China if she won.
However, two senior members of Castro’s transition team last month said that her government would maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Separately yesterday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a news conference that the ministry has established good relations with the incoming Castro administration.
Taiwan would work closely with its ally to promote collaboration in areas that the incoming government has pledged to prioritize, such as economic recovery, education and public health, she said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
FIRST TRIAL: Ko’s lawyers sought reduced bail and other concessions, as did other defendants, but the bail judge denied their requests, citing the severity of the sentences Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was yesterday sentenced to 17 years in prison and had his civil rights suspended for six years over corruption, embezzlement and other charges. Taipei prosecutors in December last year asked the Taipei District Court for a combined 28-year, six-month sentence for the four cases against Ko, who founded the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The cases were linked to the Core Pacific City (京華城購物中心) redevelopment project and the mismanagement of political donations. Other defendants convicted on separate charges included Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), who was handed a 15-year, six-month sentence; Core Pacific
RSS