Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina.

(Taken from the Ministry of Defense of Honduras Twitter)

[Reporter Yang Chengyu/Taipei Report] Enrique Reina, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Honduras, a diplomatic country of Central America, claimed to seek financial aid for the Patuca hydroelectric power station project. Minister Xie Feng's meeting in Brazil caused an uproar in the Hongguo media, questioning whether he would abandon Taiwan and switch to the embrace of totalitarian China.

Reina said on the 2nd of this month that the negotiations with China will only be conducted on loans for the hydroelectric dam project and that relations with Taiwan will be maintained.

The Honduras "Tribune" reported that Reina said that in order to create more energy for Hongguo, he sought funds (loans) from China for the second phase of the Patuca Hydropower Station.

At the same time, he denied the report that he would establish diplomatic relations with China, and explained that the meeting with Xie Feng was only for "business dialogue", and emphasized that "we will maintain the relationship with Taiwan".

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When the Honduran President Xiomara Castro of the left-wing "Liberty Reconstruction Party" (LIBRE) ran for the election last year (2021), she said that if she was elected president, she would establish diplomatic relations with China.

After she was successfully elected, under the rush of Chinese diplomats and the intervention of the United States, her staff changed their tune and stated that they would maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

Chinese President Tsai Ing-wen will appoint Vice President Lai Ching-teh as a special envoy in January 2022 to participate in the inauguration ceremony of Kaochu.

U.S. Vice President Harrison Harris, who was present at the same event, also reported that she was personally concerned about Taiwan's diplomatic relations with Hong Kong.

U.S. Ambassador to Hong Kong Laura Farnsworth Dogu also promised to strengthen Taiwan-Hong Kong diplomatic relations during the hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

On January 11 this year, Chinese Ambassador to Hongguo Zhang Junfei, U.S. Undersecretary of State Uzra Zeya, US Ambassador to Hongguo Dugou, Reina and others co-chaired in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Hongguo. The launching ceremony of the school rebuilding project is an example.

As China strengthens its presence in Latin America through its economic and trade strength, and strengthens its political relations with countries in the region, my country has successively lost 5 diplomatic allies in Latin America and the Caribbean in the past 15 years, namely Costa Rica in 2007. Canada, Panama in 2017, Dominican Republic and El Salvador in 2018, and Nicaragua in 2021.

However, St. Lucia re-established diplomatic relations with me in 2007, nearly 10 years after it severed ties with Taiwan.

my country currently has 14 diplomatic relations, namely Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, Palau, Nauru in Oceania; the Holy See in Europe; Eswatini in Africa; Paraguay in South America; St. Lucia, St. Vincent, St. Haiti, Guatemala, Belize, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Honduras.