dpa
Buenos Aires/Taipei
Honduras decided to sever relations with Taiwan, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, in an expected move after the Central American country’s decision to establish diplomatic ties with China. President Xiomara Castro had given instructions to notify Taiwan of the decision to sever relations between the two countries, the ministry said in a statement.
According to the ministry, the government of the Republic of Honduras recognizes the government of the People’s Republic of China as “the only legitimate government which represents all of China.” “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and as of today, the government of Honduras has informed Taiwan of the severance of diplomatic relations, and pledges to no longer have any official relations or contact with Taiwan,” it said.
China and Honduras signed a joint communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations by two sides, Xinhua news agency reported in Beijing on Sunday. Taiwan has had an independent government since 1949, but China considers the democratic island part of its territory and refuses to maintain official relations with any country that formally recognizes Taiwan diplomatically. Establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing was a campaign promise made by Castro, who took office in January 2022. The president announced the step, which is largely motivated by economic reasons, last week.
Following the news on Saturday, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu announced that his country in turn was breaking off diplomatic relations with Honduras. Taiwan will immediately end collaborative projects and close its embassy in Tegucigalpa and some other offices involving technology transfer among other things, Wu told a press conference in Taipei. Taiwan had already recalled its ambassador to Honduras on Thursday. Wu also asked Honduras to close its Taipei embassy. The minister stressed that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait do not belong to each other, saying that Beijing’s actions damaged the development of cross-strait relations. Following Honduras’ decision, Taiwan is now recognized by 13 diplomatic allies, including the Vatican, as a sovereign state.
