The Nightmare of Great Power Rivalry Over Taiwan
CounterPunchJUN 2023
Honduras is being used by China in its campaign to isolate Taiwan. The plan uses trade and investment — including its multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road initiative to build ports, railways, power plants, and other infrastructure for developing nations — as incentives for switching diplomatic ties. Before Honduras, where China is constructing a massive dam, China bribed Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.
Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and the PRC government is the country’s representative. Any attempt to unilaterally add preconditions and provisos to the one-China principle is illegal. So Honduras, and other Central American countries that haven’t done so already, should do the right thing and cut ties with Taiwan.