Taiwan is open to “any opportunity” to enhance ties with Honduras, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, after a Honduran opposition leader said he would re-establish ties with Taipei if elected president next year.
The ministry said in a statement that it continues to uphold “honesty and openness” when engaging with countries around the world, including Honduras, a former diplomatic ally of Taiwan.
Taiwan “will not set any preconditions for establishing relations with a foreign country and has always taken seriously any opportunity to elevate its international status and expand its global presence,” the statement said.
Photo: Reuters
Former Honduran first vice president Salvador Nasralla is vying to be nominated by his party, Partido Liberal, to run for president.
In an interview on Saturday with local station Radio America, Nasralla, who served as first vice president from 2022 until his resignation early last year, pledged that if he won next year’s elections, he would re-establish diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Honduras last year cut ties with Taipei to establish diplomatic relations with Beijing.
In the interview, Nasralla said he opposed the free-trade agreement (FTA) that the Honduran government intends to sign with China.
“Our trade with China does not need an FTA, and these quadrupeds of the government led by [Manuel] Zelaya are handing over the national territory to a power taking advantage of the ignorance of the people who govern the country today,” he said.
Zelaya, a former Honduran president, is the husband and main adviser to Honduran President Xiomara Castro.
Data showed that in 2022, Honduras’ exports to Taiwan totaled US$121 million, Nasralla said.
Exports to China were only US$11 million, while imports from China were more than US$200 million, he said.
Honduras and China have had an “unfavorable trade balance” since forming ties in March last year, Nasralla said.
Ending of diplomatic ties with Taiwan cost Honduras 8,000 jobs directly and 50,000 jobs indirectly in the shrimp industry alone, he said.
Nasralla also criticized the Castro administration for its FTA talks with China in a post on X on Thursday last week.
“Mainland China makes huge promises that in the end it does not fulfill, as Costa Rica, Panama and El Salvador have already proven,” Nasralla said, pointing to three of Taiwan’s former allies in the region.
In contrast, Honduras was able to enjoy stable shrimp exports to “our friends in Taiwan,” he said.
Citing Nasralla’s post, the ministry in its statement yesterday said that China had never fulfilled the promises it has made to Taiwan’s former allies in Latin America, including Honduras.
Additional reporting by Huang Ching-hsuan
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
BOOST IN CONFIDENCE: The sale sends a clear message of support for Taiwan and dispels rumors that US President Donald Trump ‘sold out’ the nation, an expert said The US government on Thursday announced a possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts, which was estimated to cost about US$330 million, in a move that an expert said “sends a clear message of support for Taiwan” amid fears that Washington might be wavering in its attitude toward Taipei. It was the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The proposed package includes non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, as well repair and return support for the F-16, C-130 and Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft,
CHECKING BOUNDARIES: China wants to disrupt solidarity among democracies and test their red lines, but it is instead pushing nations to become more united, an expert said The US Department of State on Friday expressed deep concern over a Chinese public security agency’s investigation into Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) for “secession.” “China’s actions threaten free speech and erode norms that have underpinned the cross-strait ‘status quo’ for decades,” a US Department of State spokesperson said. The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau late last month listed Shen as “wanted” and launched an investigation into alleged “secession-related” criminal activities, including his founding of the Kuma Academy, a civil defense organization that prepares people for an invasion by China. The spokesperson said that the US was “deeply concerned” about the bureau investigating Shen
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
RSS