The so-called "friendly" Belize Prime Minister John Briceño of the Taiwan authorities led a delegation to visit Taiwan on 8 July. According to a number of Taiwan media reports, Tsai Ing-wen, leader of the Taiwan authorities, welcomed her with a general salute and presented the "Special Grand Silk Qingyun Medal."
The Prime Minister of Belize visits Taiwan
According to reports, Briceño and his party of 8 arrived at Taoyuan International Airport at 4:51 a.m. on the 8th, and Wu Zhaoxie, head of Taiwan's foreign affairs department, picked them up at the airport. Briceño did not make a statement at the airport, only waved to the reporters who were interviewed on the spot, completed the epidemic prevention and inspection operation, and left.
Taiwan's foreign affairs department issued a press release the night before yesterday, declaring that Briceño's visit was the first time in 16 years that he had visited as prime minister, and in order to show "courtesy and attention," Tsai Ing-wen would not only welcome her with general courtesy, but also present Briceño with the "Special Grand Marshal Qing Yun Medal." According to the relevant websites in Taiwan, the so-called Qingyun Medal is divided into one to nine grades, and is awarded to "civil servants" who have "meritorious service" in Taiwan and non-"civil servants" or "foreigners" who have "made outstanding contributions".
Because Tsai Ing-wen just presented former US Secretary of State Pompeo's so-called "Special Grand Ribbon Golden Star Medal" a few days ago, some people said, "The Tsai Medal Medal is a big gift, and there are some." "Tsai Ing-wen: Whenever you come to Taiwan, you will be awarded a medal."
Some people are also curious about how much money the DPP authorities are going to throw this time. ", sarcastically: "Last time Pompeo came over spent two or three hundred thousand US dollars, this time the Belize prime minister came to Taiwan to say less than nine figures to jump, it is no wonder that a large number of politicians want to come to Taiwan to play, not fishing for nothing." "Compared with Pompeo's speech fee in the United States, this Belize is a big money chicken rib."
Location map of Belize
So, what kind of country is Belize?
Belize is located in northeastern Central America, bordering Mexico to the north, Guatemala to the west and south, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The coastline is 386 km long. Belize is a small country in Central America with a total area of 22,966 square kilometers, a population of 417,000 and a GDP of $1.925 billion. The name comes from the domestic river Belize River and the largest city, Belize City, which is the old capital of Belize and the new capital is Belmopan.
This part of Belize was originally inhabited by the Mayans. It became a Spanish colony in the early 16th century. In 1638 the British colonists invaded. It officially became a British colony in 1862 and was called British Honduras. Internal self-government was introduced in 1964, but defence and diplomacy remained the responsibility of Britain. In 1973, it was changed to the current name. It became independent on 21 September 1981 and is a member of the Commonwealth and the only Commonwealth country in Central America where English is the official language, and the Queen remains the head of state of Belize to this day.
The territory of Belize is mountainous, swampy and tropical jungle. The terrain can be roughly divided into two parts: the southern half of the terrain is dominated by the Mayan mountains, and the mountains are southwest-northeast. At 1121.97 meters above sea level, Victoria Peak, its branch, Mount Coxcombe, is the highest peak in the country. The northern half is a low area of less than 61 metres above sea level, most of which is swampy; 24 kilometres offshore, the world's second largest barrier reef runs parallel to the coast.
Seaside scenery of Belize
Belize has a subtropical rainforest climate. The average annual temperature is 25 to 27 °C. Rainfall in the south is as high as 4550 mm. June to October is often hit by hurricanes. Belize is rich in forest and fishery resources. The forest area is about 16,000 square kilometers, and the coverage rate is about 70%. Producing precious wood such as mahogany, sumac, and dye wood, mahogany is called national wood. Lobsters, sailfish, manatees and corals are abundant. There are mineral deposits such as oil, barite, cassiterite, and gold in the northwest region. Belize has proven oil reserves of 6.7 million barrels. In order to protect the natural environment, the Government of Belize began a ban on oil development in the territory at the end of 2017 [3].
The world-famous Blue Cave in Belize, also known as the "Blue Cave of British Honduras", is located in the sea next to this small country. The Great Blue Cave is the largest underwater cave in the world, located about 96.5 km off the sea off Belize, adjacent to Lighthouse Reef. The Great Blue Cave is round in appearance, with a diameter of about 304 meters and a depth of about 145 meters. It is one of the top ten geological wonders of the world. The Great Blue Cave is a limestone cave formed during the ice age when the sea level was lower, and later the roof of the cave collapsed due to the rise of the sea, which became an underwater cave. It is dark blue due to the water depth of 145 meters.
Blue Hole, Belize
The country has legal gun ownership, has the third highest homicide rate in the world, has a population below the poverty line of 33.5 percent, and is one of the most dangerous countries in the world, with 44.7 murders per 100,000 people.
There are many Chinese in Belize, mainly from Jiangmen, Guangdong Province, Taishan (Taishan belongs to Jiangmen), Taiwan Province, etc. It is said that all supermarkets in Belize are opened by Chinese.
Belize has close relations with the United States, which is Belize's largest trading partner and economic aid country, with nearly 200 American companies investing in Burma, totaling about $250 million, mainly in tourism. Similar to other Caribbean countries, Belize joined the Caribbean Community in January 2006, similar in historical, political, cultural, economic and social terms.
The Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Belize established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level on February 6, 1987, and in October 1989, due to the "abnormal relations" established between Belize and Taiwan Province, the Chinese Government immediately announced on the 23rd of that month that it had severed diplomatic relations with Belize.
In December 2018, Tsai Ing-wen visited Belize. In November 2020, when Hurricane Aita caused disasters in Belize, Taiwan's foreign affairs agencies immediately expressed their "condolences" to Belize's ambassador, He Diane, and provided emergency humanitarian assistance of US$100,000 (about NT$2.85 million) to assist in Belize's post-disaster reconstruction.
During the 2010 Shanghai World Expo in China, Belize built the Belize National Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo Park, which is located in the Caribbean Community Joint Pavilion in Area C.
Belize National Pavilion at Shanghai World Expo
Although Belize is a small and inconspicuous country, its population is equivalent to that of a small county in China. The prime minister of this small country does not visit Taiwan, and it is negligible on the issue of relations between the Taiwan Strait and the Taiwan Strait. But this is one of the links in which the Taiwan authorities have been manipulating international affairs and making their faces and vocals in the international community in recent times, and we must take note of this matter and remember this small country.
As the saying goes, I am a cattle plower