The ROC (Taiwan) government terminated diplomatic relations with Honduras March 26, according to the Presidential Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
President Tsai Ing-wen said during a video that Taiwan supports the long-term and substantive development of the country’s allies to the full extent of its capabilities. The government will not engage in a meaningless contest of dollar diplomacy with China, she added.
Pressure from Beijing will not change the fact that the ROC and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, Tsai said, adding that the people of Taiwan do not give in to threats.
According to the MOFA, the staff of the embassy in Tegucigalpa and the consulate general in San Pedro Sula are being recalled, along with the personnel of electrical and technical missions to Honduras. The ministry has further demanded that Honduras close its embassy in Taipei, adding that all bilateral cooperative projects have ended, effective immediately.
These projects were set in motion to improve the livelihoods of the people and assist in national development, the MOFA said. The cooperative programs spanned basic infrastructure, economy, education, energy, medicine and health care, trade, vocational training and women’s empowerment, it added.
Taiwan was open-handed in providing disaster relief and reconstruction assistance after storms and flooding in Honduras, the MOFA said, adding that the government deeply regrets that such friendship has been disregarded by the Castro administration.
The ministry reminds the international community that China has a history of failing to uphold its pledges once its diplomatic objectives have been achieved. When Beijing’s actions do not align with its words, beneficiary countries have been left mired in debts, the MOFA said.
The MOFA additionally cautions the authorities in Beijing that by repeatedly luring away Taiwan’s diplomatic allies through false promises, they have exacerbated the rift in cross-strait relations. Taiwan will nevertheless continue to uphold the values of freedom and democracy while collaborating with its partners to maintain regional peace and stability and ensure Taiwan’s rightful international status, the ministry added. (YCH-E)
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