June 13, 2023
Honduran President Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento and Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a joint statement following a meeting on June 12 falsely proclaiming that there is widespread international consensus on maintaining the “one China principle” and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) strongly protests the Chinese government’s repeated use of meetings with leaders of other countries to put forward its “one China principle” and unilaterally and erroneously claim that Taiwan is part of China’s territory. MOFA also solemnly condemns the government of Honduras for aligning with China in issuing a statement that undermines Taiwan’s sovereignty and dignity.
MOFA reiterates that the R.O.C. (Taiwan) is an independent sovereign country. Neither the R.O.C. (Taiwan) nor the People’s Republic of China is subordinate to the other. The PRC has never governed Taiwan for even a single day. This is an internationally recognized reality and the status quo. No country can or has the right to deny the sovereign status of the R.O.C. (Taiwan) through a joint statement.
MOFA urges the government of Honduras to refrain from complying with China’s malicious distortion of Taiwan’s sovereign status and avoid becoming complicit in increasing tensions in the region. MOFA further stresses that Taiwan will not submit to pressure or diplomatic suppression by the Chinese government and that it will steadfastly safeguard the values of freedom and democracy, strengthen cooperation with all democratic partners to jointly deter authoritarian expansion, ensure peace and security across the Taiwan Strait, and uphold the international order.