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China has launched a global pressure campaign to pull out the rest of the countries that will recognize Taiwan. Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and says it seeks “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan, which has never been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party.
“Ignoring our country’s support and friendship, the Castro regime negotiated with China to establish diplomatic relations,” Wu said, referring to Honduran President Siomara Castro.
“China has always used flashy promises to lure allies, but after achieving its diplomatic goals, most of its promises have not been met, leaving some recipients in debt,” Wu said. said Mr.
Beijing announced its formal ties with Honduras on Sunday and praised the decision. China’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Honduras is the ninth country to cut diplomatic ties with Taipei since Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016.
As a result, only 13 countries recognize Taiwan. Tsai is scheduled to visit the United States this week, including Belize and Guatemala. Taiwan has unofficially close ties with Washington, despite the United States’ diplomatic relations with Beijing under the One-China Policy, which recognizes Beijing’s claims to Taiwan, but Not supported.
Honduras’ decision fulfills Castro’s election promises for 2021 and comes after weeks of diplomatic negotiations over the country’s mounting debt problems. Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina said earlier this month that the country owed Taiwan “up to its neck”, including $600 million.
Mr Wu said on Sunday that Honduras had “acted recklessly” by demanding “huge sums” of billions of dollars from Taiwan.
The way Taiwan helps other allies is usually more “plan-oriented,” and Honduras’ demands “are a bit like bribes,” Wu said.
Disputes over Taiwan’s status date back to the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. At this time, the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan, where it formed a government and transitioned to democracy decades later. Since then, the ruling Chinese Communist Party has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan, but has never ruled the island, and Taiwan’s support for an alliance with Beijing has been limited.
In recent years, Beijing has strengthened its presence in Central America. Panama, El Salvador and Nicaragua are among the countries that have severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan since 2017.
The Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement late Saturday that “the Honduran government recognizes the existence of the only China in the world” and described Taiwan as “an integral part of China’s territory”.
Following Honduras’ announcement, the US State Department said it was important to note that China often fails to deliver on its promises and that the US will continue to deepen its engagement with Taiwan.
On Sunday morning, the news went viral on China’s social media platform Weibo, where the topic “Honduras announces severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan” has been viewed more than 100 million times.
Zhong Houtao, an associate professor at the University of International Relations in Beijing, said in an interview with state media on Thursday that the demise of Taiwan-Honduras ties shows how Washington’s influence in Latin America is dwindling. , said.
“In Latin America, more and more countries are moving forward and not following the US precedent,” said Zhong.
Pei-Lin Wu and Vic Chiang of Taipei contributed to this report.
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