Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday.
“Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country.
Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a visit earlier this year by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lin said.
Photo: Reuters
Rubio’s trip included visits to Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala, during which he commended Guatemala for its steadfast recognition of Taiwan as a “democratic nation,” despite mounting international pressure for it to change that stance.
Guatemala and Belize are Taiwan’s two remaining diplomatic allies in Central America.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Chun-yu (陳俊宇) asked Lin about campaign promises from two presidential candidates in Honduras to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Chen was referring to Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party and Nasry Asfura of the National Party, who are running against Honduran Secretary of National Defense Rixi Moncada of the governing Liberty and Refoundation Party in the general elections scheduled for Nov. 30.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro, whose term ends this year, switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 2023.
Since then, the Central American country has seen a sharp decline in its whiteleg shrimp farming industry, as Taiwan, which was the largest importer of Honduran shrimp, has since shifted to Belize for imported shrimp, Lin said.
Honduras’ shrimp exports fell from 9.2 million kilograms in 2023 to 3 million kilograms last year, a Radio America report said, citing data from the Asociacion Nacional de Acuicultores de Honduras.
In 2022, Taiwan was the main market for Honduran shrimp exports, buying nearly 40 percent.
Meanwhile, Lin said that as part of his ministry’s Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Project, Taiwan has been working with its lone South American ally, Paraguay, to help develop the country’s high-tech and artificial intelligence capabilities.
The project puts forward major initiatives in Taiwan’s “five trusted industry sectors” to help its diplomatic allies prosper, he said.
Taiwan is using the initiative as a major incentive to attract new diplomatic partners and encourage the return of former allies, he said.
Since May 2016, when then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office for her first term, Taiwan has lost 10 diplomatic allies to China, five of them in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
RSS