The nominee for US ambassador to Honduras has pledged that if confirmed she would work closely with the Central American country on the issue of its relationship with Taiwan.
Laura Farnsworth Dogu made the pledge on Tuesday during her confirmation hearing at the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
In her opening statement, Dogu, a career US Foreign Service officer who served as ambassador to Nicaragua from 2015 to 2018, said that the US promotes Taiwan as a “valuable partner.”
Photo: AP
“If confirmed, I will make clear the importance of the Honduras-Taiwan relationship and do all I can to enhance Honduras’ partnerships with other democracies,” she said.
Asked by US Senator Marco Rubio if making sure Honduras does not switch allegiance to China would be a priority for her, Dogu said that Washington has sent many high-level delegations to Honduras since Xiomara Castro was elected president in November last year.
“I know that everybody that has made that visit and spoken with the new government down there has stressed the importance of that relationship with Taiwan,” she said, adding that she would take the same position if confirmed.
“I do believe it’s very important for the government of Honduras to continue their relationship with the government of Taiwan. I think it can be beneficial, obviously. It has been in the past, and I think it will continue to be so,” she added.
There were concerns over the future of formal diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Honduras, after Castro, 62, said during her campaign that she would switch diplomatic relations to the People’s Republic of China if she won.
However, since winning the election, her team has pulled back from that position, saying that the new government would maintain a “fluid relationship” with Taipei for the time being.
When Vice President William Lai (賴清德) attended Castro’s inauguration ceremony last month, the two sides reaffirmed their diplomatic ties.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS