The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it had expressed “grave concern” after Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs Enrique Reina met with Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Xie Feng (謝峰) on Jan. 1.
A report by Honduran newspaper La Prensa said that Reina met with Xie while both were in Brasilia for the inauguration of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Reina said after the meeting that the talks had focused on China’s potential involvement in the construction of a hydroelectric dam in Honduras.
The meeting sparked concerns in Taipei that Beijing was trying to persuade Honduras to break off ties with Taiwan and establish diplomatic relations with China, MOFA said in a statement that Ambassador to Honduras Vivia Chang (張俊菲) had expressed Taiwan’s serious concern to Reina.
The ministry said that Beijing offers “false promises” to Taipei’s allies, with the sole purpose of snatching them away to diminish Taiwan’s international presence.
China has repeatedly failed to deliver on promises made to countries that cut ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing, the ministry said.
Unlike China, Taiwan had for many years pushed forward projects that improved the livelihood of Hondurans, and have won nonpartisan support and approval in the country, it said.
Honduras is an important ally of Taiwan, it said, adding that the Taiwanese government would continue working with like-minded countries to help development in the Central American country.
MOFA’s statement was released after the Central News Agency asked it to comment on a report by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister paper of the Taipei Times) earlier yesterday.
The report quoted unnamed sources as saying that Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Yui visited the nation’s Latin American allies in a bid to cement relations following rumors that some could sever diplomatic ties with Taipei.
The source did not say which country Yui had visited.
Of the 14 states that maintain diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (ROC), three are in Latin America: Guatemala, Honduras and Paraguay.
The ROC and Honduras established diplomatic relations in 1941 when the ROC government was still based in China.
Those official ties were reported to be shaky in 2021, when Xiomara Castro, the wife of ousted former Honduran president Jose Manuel Zelaya, was running for president, which she won in the Nov. 28 election that year.
Statements made by her campaign raised concerns that Castro might end Honduras’ diplomatic relationship with Taipei in favor of ties with Beijing.
However, in a meeting with Vice President William Lai (賴清德) during her inauguration in January last year, Castro allayed Taipei’s fears by stating that she hoped to maintain the two countries’ current relationship.
On Jan. 8, online news outlet Paradigma said that Zelaya had called for Honduras to break off ties with Taiwan and recognize China instead, hinting that the Central American ally could soon switch diplomatic recognition.
Honduras’ embassy in Taipei yesterday declined to comment.
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