No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeLatin AmericaCentral AmericaTaiwan warns Honduras against 'flashy, false' China promises

Taiwan warns Honduras against ‘flashy, false’ China promises

Taiwan warned Honduras on Monday against “flashy and false” promises by China after the Latin American nation’s main opposition party vowed to switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing.

Honduran presidential candidate Xiomara Castro earlier said she would “immediately open diplomatic and commercial relations with mainland China” if she wins elections in November.

Castro, the wife of ousted former president Manuel Zelaya, is the candidate for the main left-wing opposition Liberty and Refoundation Party. 

Honduras is among only 15 countries that maintain formal relations with Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if needed. 

“Our side reminds Honduras that promises by the Chinese government are usually flashy and false, and they are consistent ploys to sabotage Taiwan’s diplomatic relations with our allies,” Taipei’s foreign ministry said in a statement. 

The ministry said it was closely monitoring the situation in Honduras and vowed to continue to strengthen their 80-year-old bilateral ties.

Beijing has ramped up pressure on Taiwan since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen because she rejects its stance that the self-ruled democratic island is part of China. 

China has poached seven of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, including three in Latin America — Panama, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic.

Taiwan’s deputy foreign minister Alexander Yui said in an interview with Honduran media last month that many promises from Beijing were unfulfilled and had left some countries in severe “debt traps”.

Latin America has been a key diplomatic battleground for decades between Taiwan and China since they split in 1949 after a civil war. 

Most recently, Taipei has accused Beijing of trying to lure away its allies in the region with “vaccine diplomacy” using promises of badly needed coronavirus shots.

Honduras’ chief cabinet coordinator Carlos Alberto Madero told the Financial Times in May that his country wished to maintain ties with Taiwan but access to vaccines was “much more urgent than anything else… This puts us in a very difficult situation.”

Trending Now

Costa Rica Hunts for Nicaraguan Hit Squad After Exile’s Assassination

Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) is investigating whether a hit squad tied to Nicaragua’s Ortega-Murillo regime is targeting exiled critics on its soil....

Life After MS-13 in El Salvador as Residents Seek a Fragile Peace

Esperanza Martinez lost three relatives who were murdered and saw numerous bodies left in the streets of her neighborhood, a former stronghold of the...

Costa Rican Court Orders Release of Migrants Deported Under Trump Deal

A court on Tuesday ordered Costa Rican authorities to release foreign migrants who had been detained in a shelter after being deported under an...

Costa Rica’s Top Court Bans President Chaves from 2026 Election Campaign

Costa Rica’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal on Thursday barred President Rodrigo Chaves from participating in the 2026 election campaign, ruling that he "illegitimately used" his...

Guatemala Makes History as They Face USA in Gold Cup Semifinal Showdown

Desperate to show progress under Mauricio Pochettino, the United States is looking to secure a return to the CONCACAF Gold Cup final on Wednesday...

Costa Rica Pushes USA to the Brink but Falls in Penalty Heartbreak

If you just caught the end of the USA vs. Costa Rica Gold Cup quarterfinal, you probably feel like you need another cup of...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica