Taiwan’s top diplomat yesterday stopped short of confirming whether the country plans to invite the Honduran National Congress’ pro-Taiwan speaker for a visit.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said Taiwan and the Central American country severed ties three years ago, but Taipei has still “maintained close connections and interactions with our friends there.”
He said he is aware that Honduran National Congress Speaker Tomas Zambrano has openly supported restoring ties with Taiwan, and that his stance has public backing.
Photo: CNA
“We will continue to invite important political figures from non-diplomatic partners — including those from Europe and the South Pacific — to Taiwan,” Lin said, without confirming whether the ministry planned to invite Zambrano.
Lin was responding at a legislative meeting to a question from ruling Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), a member of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, who said he believed Zambrano would be visiting Taiwan in the near future and asked Lin for confirmation.
Zambrano — then an opposition lawmaker — had warned former Honduran president Xiomara Castro that the decision to sever ties with Taiwan in favor of China was a mistake, Wang said.
After being elected speaker of the Honduran congress in January, Zambrano reiterated his support for Taipei over Beijing, saying the shift in diplomatic ties had hurt local businesses.
More than 15,000 jobs were lost in the shrimp industry alone, he said, citing media reports.
Meanwhile, when asked by Wang about progress made toward restoring ties, Lin said that Taipei maintained an open attitude toward friendly exchanges with Honduras and that bilateral communications remained smooth.
Earlier this week, the ministry described as “pure speculation” a Honduran media report claiming that Taiwan could soon send a delegation to the former ally to explore resuming relations.
Honduran President Nasry Asfura, who took office in January, had pledged during his campaign to restore ties with Taipei.
Diplomatic relations were severed in 2023 under Castro in favor of China, ending an 82-year alliance.
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