Honduran President Exploring Ties With China 宏國外長:台拒增金援 宏轉與中建交關鍵

Honduran President Xiomara Castro tweeted on March 15 that she has instructed Honduran Foreign Affairs Minister Eduardo Reina to handle the establishment of official diplomatic relations with China. Reina said during an interview that the reason for the switch is because Taiwan refused to increase its financial assistance.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it continues to work hard to save the relationship with Honduras.

Honduras is on the verge of severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduran President Xiomara Castro tweeted on March 15 that she has instructed Honduran Foreign Affairs Minister Eduardo Reina to handle the establishment of official diplomatic relations with China. According to Reina, the reason Honduras has approached China is because Taiwan refused to increase its financial assistance. 

Eduardo Reina, Honduran Foreign Minister: “Recently, we proposed a change to the vision of the relationship between Honduras and Taiwan, because there was the creation of a plan based mainly on donations and projects. It's worth saying that it's around...”

Honduras set a price tag for maintaining its relationship with Taiwan, which was US$300 million to jointly establish a new hydroelectric dam called Patuca II. Castro has not officially announced that she is severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which has been interpreted as the U.S. having some misgivings. Former AIT Director Douglas Paal said he believes the U.S. is still making attempts to block the switch, which is why Honduras has not made anything official. U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch and other pro-Taiwan representatives issued warnings that Honduras would be making a grave mistake to embrace China and its empty promises.

Jeff Liu, Spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “The government will absolutely not enter a dollar diplomacy competition with China. We would also like to remind the Honduran government not to drink poison to quench its thirst. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued warnings about the bilateral relationship and continues to work hard to maintain the relationship to this day.”

Vice President William Lai attended Castro's inauguration in 2022. Former Honduran Ambassador to Taiwan Rafael Fernando Sierra Quesada said Castro is making a wrong policy decision which will impact a countless number of Honduran families, and posted a photo of Castro and Lai at the Honduran Congress to show that Castro is telling lies.

Chiu Chen-yuan, Legislator (TPP): “The expansion of China's influence and its influence on the international community are worth observing. Related national security units also need to step up their vigilance and take countermeasures.”

Chao Tien-lin, Legislator (DPP): “I think this issue is quite odd. As this issue hasn't been concluded yet, we still hope the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can continue working hard.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it continues to work hard to save the relationship with Honduras. President Tsai Ing-wen has plans to visit Guatemala and Belize in April. The exclusion of Honduras was interpreted as a sign that a diplomatic crisis already existed.

台灣與中美洲友邦宏都拉斯傳出邦交可能生變，宏國總統卡蕬楚透過推特表示將與中國建交，宏國外長更直言，台灣拒絕增加金援，是他們要跟中國建交的關鍵。

宏都拉斯外長雷依納表示：「這一陣子我們提議了一些變化，我們建立了一個計畫，有關補助和建案，（金額大約5千萬美元）。」

要跟台灣維持邦交，宏國開出的價碼就是合建新帕圖卡水電站3億美元。不過卡蕬楚尚未直接宣布跟台斷交，被解讀可能是對美國仍有顧忌。前AIT台北辦事處長包道格表示，相信美方曾試圖阻止，應是宏國考量情勢，不像中國精心策劃。美國參院外委會首席議員里契和多位友台議員都示警，宏國擁抱中國及其空頭支票會是嚴重錯誤。

外交部發言人劉永健指出：「政府絕不會與中國進行金錢競逐，同時也提醒宏國政府，切勿飲鴆止渴。外交部對於兩國關係出現警訊，迄今仍努力維持邦誼。」

去（2022）年卡蕬楚就職時，副總統賴清德曾出席，前宏國駐台大使謝拉則批評，卡蕬楚錯誤決策將衝擊當地無數家庭，還貼出卡蕬楚跟賴清德在宏國會晤照片，質疑卡蕬楚又撒謊。

民眾黨立委邱臣遠說道：「中共勢力的擴張跟對國際社會的影響，這個是值得觀察，相關的國安單位也必須要加強戒備，來去做相關的因應之道。」

民進黨立委趙天麟認為：「我覺得這件事情還蠻頗有蹊蹺，這件事情也還沒有到最後的結果，我們還是會希望外交部持續努力。」

與宏國邦交是否還有轉圜餘地，外交部強調仍在努力，不過總統蔡英文規劃4月出訪中美洲友邦瓜地馬拉跟貝里斯，獨漏宏都拉斯，也被外界解讀台宏斷交危機早有跡可尋。