China and Honduras on Sunday signed a landmark communique to formally establish diplomatic relations, with the Central American nation becoming the latest country to switch recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
Sunday’s agreement signed in Beijing between the two Foreign Ministers said “the two Governments have decided to recognise each other and establish diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level, effective from the date of signature of this communiqué.”
“There is but one China in the world and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal Government representing the whole of China,” it added. “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory.”
Honduras, the agreement said, “chooses to stand with 181 countries in the world, recognise and undertake to adhere to the one-China principle, sever the so-called ‘diplomatic relations’ with Taiwan, establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, and undertake that Honduras shall no longer develop any official relations or official exchanges with Taiwan.”
The agreement now leaves a dwindling number of diplomatic partners for Taiwan, with Honduras joining Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica in recently recognising Beijing and ending ties with Taipei.
The only remaining among the 193 member countries of the UN that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan, along with the Holy See (Vatican), are the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Tuvalu, and Palau in the Pacific; Eswatini in Africa; and Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Paraguay, St. Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Taipei hit out at the move, with a statement from the office of President Tsai Ing-wen saying China had “suppressed the international space” of Taiwan. Officials in Taipei said financial reasons were behind the switch, and Honduras had asked Taiwan for financial assistance as a condition to continue relations.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who began his third five-year term as President earlier this month, reiterated at the annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) or Parliament that the Taiwan issue was a red line for China. Mr. Xi, and previous Chinese leaders, have said they will pursue “peaceful reunification” but will not rule out the use of force. Chinese officials, at the NPC, also warned the U.S. against interference in Taiwan.
“Realising China’s complete reunification is a shared aspiration of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation as well as the essence of national rejuvenation,” Mr. Xi said. “We should implement the [Communist] Party’s overall policy for resolving the Taiwan question in the new era, uphold the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, actively promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, resolutely oppose foreign interference and separatist activities aimed at ‘Taiwan independence,’ and unswervingly promote progress towards national reunification.”
