China’s campaign to deprive Taiwan of diplomatic recognition might have a rare reversal this month when voters in Honduras choose their next president.
The two front-runners in tomorrow’s election both pledge to sever ties with Beijing and re-establish them with Taipei.
The candidates, former Honduran vice president Salvador Nasralla and former Tegucigalpa mayor Nasry Asfura, also want to forge a closer relationship with the US, the nation’s top trading partner and main destination for migrants.
Photo: Reuters
Nasralla led a poll last month with Asfura in second ahead of tomorrow’s single-round vote.
US President Donald Trump called on Hondurans to back Asfura, saying in a post on social media that he was the only one of the trio with whom he could work.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro established diplomatic relations with Beijing in 2023, ending ties with Taiwan, saying that the change would bring trade and financing opportunities to the Central American nation of 11 million people.
Castro is not eligible for re-election, but her ally, ruling party candidate Rixi Moncada, would continue to recognize Beijing. She placed third in the poll.
The vote is the latest test of whether the region is aligning itself with Trump as he pressures trade partners to distance themselves from Beijing. On Sunday, Chileans sent conservative Jose Antonio Kast to a presidential runoff while, last month, pro-business senator Rodrigo Paz won Bolivia’s presidential runoff. Both candidates pledged to seek better relations with Washington.
Nasralla and Asfura blamed Castro’s decision for a decline in some exports. Taiwan used to be the biggest market for Honduran shrimp, but imports have slumped since diplomatic ties were cut.
They also say that Castro’s promises of Chinese investment boosting development failed to materialize.
The government in Beijing uses offers of loans, infrastructure investments and aid to induce the few remaining governments that still recognize Taipei to switch, while Taiwan uses similar methods to persuade them to stay. Over the past decade, Panama, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador have all recognized Beijing, but it is unusual for countries to switch allegiance in the opposite direction.
“Economically, the relationship with China has been a bad deal for Honduras despite the expectations, so it’s a pocket-book issue, but it’s also about signaling that we want to align ourselves with the West and the United States,” said Evan Ellis, a professor at the Pennsylvania-based Army War College specializing in Latin America. “If there’s one way to get on President Trump’s radar screen, and [US] Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio’s, in a very positive way, I think it’s that flip.”
The US remains by far the largest buyer of Honduran goods, while exports to China account for less than 1 percent of the total.
After a visit to Beijing in 2023, Castro said that China would finance infrastructure such as a hydroelectric dam and that both nations would sign a free-trade agreement.
However, the deals stalled.
“The decision to cut ties with Taiwan and establish them with China has not resulted in the flows of capital the government may have anticipated,” said Margaret Myers, director of the Asia and Latin America program at the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue. “Projects have not come to pass.”
Nasralla and Asfura have also promised to cut ties with Venezuela if elected, saying they do not recognize Nicolas Maduro as president. Castro’s government has backed Maduro and criticized the US military buildup in the Caribbean.
The lead-up to tomorrow’s vote has been tense, which both sides accusing the other of planning fraud.
The ruling party accused the opposition of seeking to steal the election and has taken aim at electoral judges. They also installed a temporary congress of loyalists, while opposition lawmakers formed a separate legislative body.
The US and the Organization of American States expressed concern about the electoral process.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said on X that the US would “respond swiftly and decisively to anyone who undermines the integrity of the democratic process in Honduras.”
Voting centers are scheduled to open at 7am and close at 5pm, with initial results expected after 8pm, the Honduran National Board of Elections said.
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the meeting next month, Japanese sources said The holding of a Japan-US leaders’ meeting ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China is positive news for Taiwan, former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association representative Hiroyasu Izumi said yesterday. After the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in Japan’s House of Representatives election, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit the US next month, where she is to meet with Trump ahead of the US president’s planned visit to China from March 31 to April 2 for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday bestowed one of Taiwan’s highest honors on Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Ambassador Andrea Clare Bowman in recognition of her contributions to bilateral ties. “By conferring the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon on Ambassador Bowman today, I want to sincerely thank her, on behalf of the Taiwanese people, for her outstanding contribution to deepening diplomatic ties between Taiwan and SVG,” Lai said at a ceremony held at the Presidential Office in Taipei. He noted that Bowman became SVG’s first ambassador to Taiwan in 2019 and
RSS