Outgoing Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez left Taiwan on Sunday, ending a three-day visit that marked the 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations between his Central American country and Taiwan.
Hernandez and his 11-member delegation departed from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 11:50pm, after completing the last item on their formal itinerary, a visit to the Central American Bank for Economic Integration’s regional office in Taiwan.
On Saturday, Hernandez met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to celebrate the 80 years of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
Photo: CNA
In the meeting at the Presidential Office, Hernandez said that the two nations were true friends, and that his visit was a “clear and firm message” that Honduras wanted to stand by Taiwan against China’s growing military threat.
Also on Saturday, a member of the delegation, Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs Lisandro Rosales Banegas, was awarded the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in recognition of his contributions to promoting closer diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Honduras.
Hernandez and the delegation arrived in Taiwan on Friday night at Tsai’s invitation — it was his fourth visit to the nation.
His previous visits were in 2015 and 2016 as Honduran president, and in 2010 as speaker of the Honduran Parliament.
The latest visit came only months before the end of Hernandez’s second and final term as president, and amid uncertainty over Honduran foreign policy after the country’s presidential election on Nov. 28.
One of the leading candidates, Xiomara Castro of the left-wing opposition Liberty and Refoundation Party, has vowed to forge diplomatic relations with China if elected, according to a Reuters report in September.
If that happens, the number of Taiwan’s official diplomatic allies would shrink to 14.
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