March 18, 2023
MOFA response to multiple statements issued by US administration and Congress supporting relations between Taiwan and Honduras
Since Honduran President Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento’s announcement that she intends to develop official relations with China, the United States administration and more than 20 US senators and representatives have made pointed statements calling on the government of Honduras not to make an erroneous judgment and reiterating rock-solid support for Taiwan.
From the US administration, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated during a March 17 interview that the United States has long supported Taiwan, that it is in people’s interest to engage the world, and that Taiwan has a lot to offer in international institutions. The Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan issued a statement on March 16 that the Honduran government should understand that China has failed to honor many of its promises. It reiterated that Taiwan is an important partner of the United States and a reliable partner of countries in the Americas and around the world. Furthermore, it said that the United States encourages all countries to expand their engagement with Taiwan and to continue to stand on the side that upholds the principles of good governance, transparency, and the rule of law.
From the Congress, more than 20 leaders and prominent members of both houses have expressed support for Taiwan via Twitter and other avenues. These included Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Jim Risch (R-ID), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, respectively; Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues, respectively; Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Representative Mark Green (R-TN), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security; and Representative Maria Salazar (R-FL), Chairwoman of the House Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere. They reaffirmed the US Congress’s staunch support for Taiwan and urged the government of Honduras not to believe China’s empty promises.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) sincerely appreciates the statements of support by the US administration and friends in Congress at this important time. MOFA stresses that the Taiwan government is continuing to make every effort to preserve the diplomatic alliance between Taiwan and Honduras but that it will certainly not engage in monetary competition with China. MOFA again reminds the government of Honduras not to make a Faustian bargain as it deals with debt issues, adding that there have been many instances proving that falling into China’s debt trap leads to disaster for both nations and their peoples.