A Honduran lawmaker who made a rare visit to Taiwan earlier this month was in the country to attend a training course organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), a MOFA official in charge of the program said Tuesday.
Jose Han (韓志正), head of MOFA’s Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs, said Jorge Calix, caucus whip of Honduras’ opposition Liberal Party, visited Taiwan mainly to attend the MOFA-organized Yuan Pang Class (遠 朋班).
The annual training course, which has been held for decades, is intended to provide professional training for leaders in the region and allow them to become more familiar with Taiwan, Han said when asked to comment on Calix’s trip.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Calix is the first Honduran politician to publicly visit Taiwan since the Central American country severed diplomatic ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing in March 2023, under then-President Xiomara Castro, ending 82 years of diplomatic relations.
Han would not comment, however, on whether Calix’s visit was related to the possibility of re-establishing ties between Taiwan and the former Central American ally that switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in March 2023.
Honduras’ new president, Nasry Asfura, who took office in January, had pledged during his election campaign to restore ties with Taipei.
Since then, however, neither Tegucigalpa nor Taipei has spoken publicly about the possibility of restoring diplomatic ties.
A MOFA press statement released on Sept. 16 said Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) had met with Calix a day earlier.
In the meeting, Lin pledged that Taiwan’s government would maintain a “pragmatic and open approach” toward the prospect of future relations that could “create all kinds of possibilities,” MOFA said.
According to Han, the training session Calix attended last week was the 17th edition of the Yuan Pang Class, or Advanced Foreign Relations Course.
Representatives from 20 countries in Latin America attended the course, including countries such as Honduras that do not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, he said during a MOFA weekly briefing.
The attendees were either senior officials from Taiwan’s diplomatic allies or lawmakers, think tank heads and business leaders from non-allied countries, Han said.
Calix has served as a member of the National Congress since 2014. In early 2022, he briefly served as the disputed president of the Congress.
A Hualien pomelo farmer refused to sell to China after the country announced it would permit more Taiwanese pomelo imports, prompting widespread support from Taiwanese consumers, who rallied to buy his fruit. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said that China’s General Administration of Customs registered an additional 79 Taiwanese pomelo orchards and packing facilities in Hualien County, allowing more Taiwanese producers to export pomelos to China. “I am a Hualien fruit farmer and I refuse to sell to China,” Liu Tzu-hao (劉子豪) from Ruisui Township (瑞穗) said in an online post. Liu is a well-known farmer in the community and has served
A Chinese military drone was spotted conducting reconnaissance off Taitung County as President William Lai (賴清德) visited Pingtung County this morning to inspect a drill of the armed forces’ precision-strike capabilities, prompting the military to closely monitor its actions. Today was the final day of a three-day military exercise at Jioupeng Base (九鵬基地) to test the joint combat capabilities of the armed forces and coast guard. The exercise began on Wednesday simulating air defense interception and yesterday tested long-range strike capabilities and new air defense weapons. This morning, the military conducted a final exercise involving air defense, anti-ship and drone operations. Military sources said
UPDATE: The submarine would need to undergo combined systems testing and crew training for navy personnel before it is ready for mission, an expert said Taiwan’s first domestically built submarine, the Hai Kun (Narwhal, 海鯤), could be delivered to the navy as early as next month, military expert and Taiwan Association for Security and Development chairman Chi Tung-yun (紀東昀) said yesterday. The submarine was yesterday morning observed departing for its 21st sea trial and its 15th submerged test. The vessel missed the initial delivery deadline of November last year due to “testing delays,” its primary contractor, shipbuilder CSBC Corp, Taiwan, said in June. The contractor also cited “political pressure from China” in procuring critical equipment. All testing operations are in the final stages, with the
OCT. 31: The antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Eraflu have been distributed to about 4,000 medical facilities nationwide for people in seven groups who develop flu-like symptoms As the domestic influenza epidemic enters its peak season and continues to escalate, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday announced that publicly funded influenza antiviral drugs for seven eligible groups have been extended to Oct. 31, allowing those who develop flu-like symptoms to receive the medication without undergoing a rapid influenza test. The CDC has extended the expanded use of flu antiviral drugs to seven groups: healthcare and influenza-prevention personnel; residents and staff at nursing homes, long-term care facilities and similar institutions; kindergarten and daycare workers and home-based caregivers; students from kindergarten through high school, vocational high school and the
RSS