After being cut off by nine countries, Tsai Ing-wen Admin proposes a “Two Chinas” dual recognition diplomatic approach

Editors‘ Note:
This article was compiled and written by OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus and reviewed by the human editors of Eat News.

On the morning of March 26, 2023, the Republic of China (ROC) was severed diplomatic ties with Honduras, making it the ninth country to do so since the Democratic Progressive Party took office in 2016. Joseph Wu, ROC Minister of Foreign Affairs, has not stepped down as a result. Instead, he plans to introduce a “Two Chinas” diplomatic approach, which does not exclude the possibility of countries establishing diplomatic relations with both the ROC and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) simultaneously. However, the PRC currently does not allow countries with formal diplomatic ties to establish relations with the ROC simultaneously, emphasizing that this is the core of the “One China Principle.”

The Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs released the statement, the Government of the Republic of Honduras, under instructions from the President, has informed Taiwan of its decision to break diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Government of Honduras recognizes the existence of one China in the world and that the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing all of China. Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory, and from this date, the Honduran Government has communicated to Taiwan the termination of diplomatic relations, committing not to have any official relations or contact with Taiwan in the future.

Following Honduras’ severing of diplomatic ties, the ROC announced a complete halt to all bilateral cooperation projects with Honduras, withdrawing embassy personnel, consulate staff in Shanpu, technical teams, and power teams, and requesting that Honduras close its embassy in Taiwan. As early as 2012, Honduras had hoped to maintain relations with both Chinas, but during the Kuomintang’s administration, the ROC’s foreign policy did not accept “dual recognition” by allies between the two sides of the strait. Recently, however, Deputy Foreign Minister Yu Da-wei openly stated in an interview with Spanish-language media INFOBAE that, compared to the PRC’s efforts to exclude the ROC, the ROC welcomes Argentina’s simultaneous engagement with both the PRC and the ROC and calls on all countries to consider this deeply.

Although Honduras had previously expressed hopes to maintain business relations with the ROC even after cutting ties, today’s severance announcement has changed its tune, severing all exchanges and reiterating the “One China Principle.” When asked by the media at a press conference if the ROC officially supports the dual recognition policy, Joseph Wu responded, “We have not ruled out any situation.” When any country wishes to elevate relations with us, whether in politics, diplomacy, economics, trade, or culture, we will seriously consider and study how to expand our international space.

Since Chiang Kai-shek served as President, the foreign policy of the ROC has been “The Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China cannot coexist.” In 1971, the majority of countries supported the issue of the PRC replacing the ROC’s seat in the United Nations as China. The PRC government insisted on “no entry for Beijing until Taipei leaves” and “expulsion of the Chiang Kai-shek clique.” The ROC government outwardly adhered to “The Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China cannot coexist.” After the United States and its allies proposed a “dual representation” resolution draft before the opening of the United Nations General Assembly, the ROC agreed to accept the US State Department’s suggestion, but the proposal was rejected by the United Nations General Assembly.