Original Juquan Dou 2023-03-28
Country profiles
The Republic of Honduras (La República de Honduras) covers an area of 112,500 square kilometers, which is smaller than the area of Shandong Province in China (15.58 square kilometers), and has a population of 9,450,700 (2020), which is slightly larger than the population of Jining, Shandong (8357897 people, 2020 data). Indo-European mestizos account for 90%, followed by 7% Indians, 2% Africans, and 1% Europeans (2022 data of China Consular Service Network). Spanish is the official language. 95.8% of the inhabitants are Catholic. Currency: Lempira, 1 USD ≈ 23.68 lempira (August 2021). The capital is Tegucigalpa. The constitution states that the capital, consisting of the cities of Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela, is called the Central Region, with an area of 1,514 square kilometers and a population of 1,158,000.
Administrative divisions. The country is divided into 18 departments: Atlantida, Colón, Comayagua, Copan, Cortés, Çolutka, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazán, Gracias Adios, Incibca, Gulf Islands, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepec, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Balle, Yoro.
Honduras is located in northern Central America. It is bordered to the north by the Caribbean Sea, to the south by the Gulf of Fonseca in the Pacific Ocean, to the east and south by Nicaragua and El Salvador, and to the west by Guatemala. The coastline is 1033 km long. The coastal climate is tropical rainforest, with an average annual temperature of 27°C; The central mountains are cool and dry, with an average annual temperature of 23°C. There are two seasons throughout the year, the rainy season is June ~ October, and the dry season is November ~ May. Honduras is a mountainous country with a wide variety of flora and fauna, ancient Mayan civilization, quality coffee and cigars, and diverse cultures.
Originally inhabited by Indians, Honduras was adopted as a Spanish colony in the 16th century. Independence on September 15, 1821. It joined the Central American Federation in 1823. A republic was established after the dissolution of the Confederation in 1838.
A look back in history
Honduras, which means "deep" in Spanish, was originally inhabited by indigenous Indians and gave birth to the Mayan civilization.
In the early 16th century, Columbus arrived in the Gulf Islands, and then Honduras became a Spanish colony, gradually merging indigenous and foreign cultures.
Today, diverse cultures are intertwined in Honduras, in the form of architecture, language, music, dance, traditional costumes and more. The official language of Honduras is Spanish, but many regions still retain some ancient languages belonging to the Mayan language family. In terms of architecture, Honduras not only has the magnificent remains of the Mayan civilization, but also scattered around the Tegucigalpa Cathedral and other exquisite buildings with a strong Spanish colonial style.
Every year, the Central American country celebrates many unique traditional festivals, such as the "Fish Rain Festival" and the Punta Gorda Festival. During traditional festivals, grand parades and musical performances are often held in various places, and Honduran people dressed in local traditional costumes sing and dance.
Speaking of the Mayan civilization, one has to mention the ruins of the ancient city of Copan Maya in northwestern Honduras. The site covers an area of about 15 hectares and is considered one of the oldest and grandest ruins of the ancient city of the Mayan civilization. Its magnificent pyramids, intricately carved stone statues and well-preserved environment attract millions of tourists and archaeologists from all over the world every year. The ancient city of Copan Maya was inscribed on the United Nations World Heritage List in 1980 and is an important Mayan monument in Central America.
On December 20, 2012, in Skopán, Honduras, an actor performs at the Welcome to the Mayan New Era event. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Rafael Ochoa)
Among the archaeological excavations of this site, there are also Chinese scholars. In 2015, Chinese archaeologists went to the site of Copan to excavate the site of a noble courtyard in the ancient city of Kopan, and iconic stone carvings of the Mayan civilization, such as Quetzalcoatl and Corn, were unearthed.
Resource environment
More than three-quarters of Honduras is mountainous and plateau, and about half of the land is covered by forests, rich in high-quality woods such as pine, mahogany and whitewood.
Silver, gold, lead, zinc, copper, iron, antimony and coal are the main mineral resources here, and silver reserves are the highest in Central America. In Honduras, the world's second largest barrier reef is surrounded by white beaches and rivers run through jungle-covered mountains.
In addition to the mountains, Honduras also has a large number of lakes, islands and outlying islands with veins of coral reefs and tropical rainforests. With its diverse natural environment and rich biodiversity, Honduras is known as the "Forest of Spirits" and is popular with travel enthusiasts around the world. Located in the north of Honduras, Roatan Island is a famous tourist destination in the Caribbean. The island's diverse flora and fauna, walking in the rainforest park, flowers, trees, mosses, fern lichens and other landscapes are dazzling, and butterflies, parrots and anteaters of different sizes roam freely through the rainforest, which is a vivid demonstration of Honduras as an ecotourism destination.
Honest and hospitable, Hondurans love to party and dance, and men often shake hands and women kiss cheeks or hugs. Locals love bean rice, broth, coffee, red wine, sugar cane wine and rum, and often eat fruits such as bananas, pineapples, mangoes, watermelons and papayas.
This is Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, taken from an aerial photograph on March 25, 2023. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xin Yuewei
Level of economic development
Honduras is one of the least developed countries in Latin America and has a relatively weak industrial base. Hong was once the world's largest exporter of bananas and is now the largest exporter of coffee in Central America.
The main economic data for 2020 are as follows: GDP 23,828 million dollars; GDP per capita $ 2,405; GDP growth rate - 8.9%; Inflation rate 4.63%; The unemployment rate is 9.3 per cent. Foreign trade. It mainly exports coffee, bananas, palm oil, shrimp, sugar, tobacco and other crops and mineral products such as zinc, lead and silver, and the main export targets are the United States, the European Union and Central American countries; It mainly imports machinery, electronic equipment, chemical products, fuels, lubricants, manufactured goods and grain, and the main import source countries are the United States, the European Union, Central American countries and Japan. In 2020, Hong exported US$4.258 billion and imported US$8.957 billion, up 0.6% and -13.5% year-on-year, respectively.
As of January 2022, Honduras is currently the third largest coffee exporter in Latin America and the largest in Central America, according to China's Ministry of Commerce. In 2020, Honduran coffee exports amounted to US$870 million. According to reports, the taste of Honduran coffee is often accompanied by floral or fruity aromas, suitable for direct punching or processing.
This is a village in Honduras Cosmayagua, photographed on March 25, 2023. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xin Yuewei
Honduras is not only a producer of high-quality coffee, but also famous for its cigars. As the world's third largest cigar producer and exporter, Honduras has been growing and producing cigars for more than 100 years, especially in recent years, Honduras' cigar industry has made a qualitative leap. Cigars from Honduras are mainly produced in the province of Copán and the city of Danley. The soil and climatic conditions here are ideal for cigar leaf cultivation, and the cigars produced are of high quality, rich in taste and have a special aroma.
Educate. Urban primary schools are seven-year old. Rural primary school is a three-year system. Education is compulsory until the age of 14. There are 10 institutions of higher learning in the country, of which the National Autonomous University of Honduras was founded in 1846.
External relations. Advocating peaceful coexistence and mutual respect for territorial sovereignty among all countries; promoting democracy and defending human rights; Attach importance to the development of relations with developed countries such as the United States, the European Union and Japan, and maintain traditional friendship with Latin American countries; supporting regional integration processes; Support international counter-terrorism cooperation.
Relations with China
There are about 10,000 Chinese in Honduras, mainly in the capital Tegucigalpa and the northern industrial town of San Pedro Sula. Most of these Chinese are from Guangdong Province, mainly descendants of the first batch of Chinese immigrants in the 20th century, and most of them have a certain social status and economic strength in the local area. New immigrants to Honduras in the eighties and nineties of the twentieth century mostly ran small commodities and restaurants, and the economy was in good condition. Diligent and honest Chinese merchants have won the recognition and respect of the locals with their integrity. Jorge Arturo Reina, a former interior and justice minister in Honduras, once said that in his eyes, the Chinese were "modest, hardworking, strong and worthy of respect."
On March 25, local time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Honduras issued a statement officially announcing the severance of "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan. The statement said that there is only one China in the world, the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. Effective immediately, Honduras severed "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan and stopped all contacts and official contacts with Taiwan.
On 26 March, China and Honduras signed the Joint Communiqué between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Honduras on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations. The two Governments decided to recognize each other and establish diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level from the date of the signing of the communiqué.
Some people say that the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Hong Kong was bought by the Chinese side. This is pure, shameless planting. Those who believe in this lie do not understand that for China, there is no country with diplomatic relations in the world that can be bought by money, and even those that can be bought by money are meaningless.
China's total economic output is much larger than Taiwan's, and if it also engages in gold dollar diplomacy, it can get a bunch of poor and small countries at a price far higher than Taiwan in minutes, but China resolutely does not engage in this because gold dollar diplomacy has no way out.
What is the direct cause of the severance of diplomatic relations between Honduras and Taiwan? It is because of the gold dollar diplomacy.
In 2021, when Taiwan engaged in gold dollar diplomacy with Lithuania, the chairman of Taiwan's "National Development Council" brought a delegation of 66 people to Lithuania, announced on the spot that it would aid Lithuania 1.2 billion US dollars, and purchased a large amount of Lithuanian rum at a significantly more expensive price, and then forcibly fed this "democratic rum" to the Taiwanese people to drink. This did not lead to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Lithuania and Taiwan, but only for a Lithuanian trade office in Taiwan.
But Taiwan's gold dollars to Honduras cost only $50 million a year. Honduras will have an idea: I have established diplomatic relations with you in Taiwan, and I have not had political contacts with Chinese mainland for decades, and as a result, you only give 50 million US dollars a year. Lithuania and Chinese mainland have established diplomatic relations for many years, and only set up a trade office in Taiwan, and as a result, you directly gave 1.2 billion US dollars. On what basis, I ask you why?
This is the huge drawback of gold dollar diplomacy, all countries want higher benefit fees, but as long as you give a country a higher benefit fee, then other countries will think about it. So Honduras offered to raise the price to $100 million a year. The Taiwan region cannot afford to give it, because if it does, then other "countries with diplomatic relations" will have to raise prices, so they can only break off diplomatic relations. Why break off diplomatic relations? Cut off $50 million a year and it's gone, it's better than nothing.
This brings us to the Chinese mainland strategy, which is trade diplomacy. The Taiwan region gives Honduras $50 million a year, but the mainland does not give a penny, is it that Honduras has not benefited from the Chinese mainland? No, because Honduras and Chinese mainland trade. In 2022, the trade volume between Honduras and Chinese mainland was US$1.589 billion, the tariff rate charged was between 6.5~18%, and the tariff revenue brought to the Honduran government exceeded US$100 million. Without establishing diplomatic relations with the Chinese government and restricting trade and policies in many fields, Honduras can collect $100 million a year in tariffs alone, and the overall benefits to the national economy and employment are much greater than $100 million.
If we can establish diplomatic relations with the Chinese government and enjoy China's "One Belt, One Road" policy, how much trade benefits can it bring to Honduras? And such benefits are also mutually beneficial and win-win for China, and there is no need to worry about China's future regret and not giving money. Therefore, Honduras' proposal to increase the financial aid for Taiwan from $50 million to $100 million is not a random asking price, and the "loss" brought by the establishment of Taiwan to Honduras is indeed as much as $100 million.
Why so many economic powers in Europe and the United States are secretly happy to see Taiwan used as a pawn to contain China, but on the surface, they dare not establish diplomatic relations with Taiwan, the fundamental reason behind it is that China's trade diplomacy policy has greatly increased the cost of establishing diplomatic relations between these countries and Taiwan. The greater the trade volume with China, the greater the losses from establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which is an astronomical amount for economic powers, and Taiwan simply cannot compensate.
What is even more outrageous is that China's trade diplomacy is without loss to itself and pursues a win-win situation, because bilateral trade itself is also beneficial to the mainland. The Taiwan region itself is too small to establish a huge bilateral trade volume, and the use of gold dollar diplomacy as compensation in exchange for its own continuous blood loss, which is a huge burden on finances. So a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said there was no way out for Kim Yuan diplomacy.
In addition to trade strength, the attractiveness of Chinese mainland is reflected in various aspects, such as technological strength. Honduras is a typical U.S. client country, not only extremely close to the United States, but also extremely admiring the United States. With just over 8 million people, about 100,000 people migrate illegally to the United States each year, and the total number of immigrants in Honduras in the United States now stands at 1 million. After the outbreak of the new crown epidemic in 2020, Honduras hoped to purchase vaccines from the United States, but the United States refused, saying that it could not be sold to Honduras until all its citizens were vaccinated. Under the great pressure of the domestic people, the desperate Honduras found a number of countries to clarify to China, and finally purchased Chinese vaccines through neighboring El Salvador. El Salvador was able to buy Chinese vaccines because they severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 2018 and established diplomatic relations with China.
Look at this circle of neighbors in Honduras. In 2017, Panama and Taiwan severed diplomatic relations. In 2018, El Salvador and Taiwan severed diplomatic relations. Nicaragua and Taiwan severed diplomatic relations in 2021. Now that Honduras has also severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan, only Guatemala is left in the so-called "diplomatic relations" in Taiwan, and it is estimated that diplomatic relations will have to be severed in a few years.
It stands to reason that this piece of land is the so-called back garden of the United States, which is extremely close to the United States, and the United States has also promoted Taiwan to them several times. But in the end, all the countries in this area broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and then they all ran to the Chinese mainland side. The reason is also very simple, you the United States itself does not dare to establish diplomatic relations with the Taiwan region on the surface, and it is almost a dead hand to fight a trade war and a scientific and technological war with China, and as a result, there is still a large amount of trade volume that needs to be exchanged with China, because the interests and benefits inside are too great to give up. Then we, the small Central American countries, can only sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan after the trade volume with China reaches a certain amount.
The next country to sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan is estimated to be Paraguay, allowing the Tsai Ing-wen administration in Taiwan to continue the "glorious record" of severing diplomatic relations with a country for one year. Because in April 2020, Paraguay proposed a motion to establish diplomatic relations with Chinese mainland, but it failed to pass by 25 votes to 16, and the pros and cons were only 9 votes away. In 2021, Paraguay could not buy American vaccines, and Taiwan did not have them, begging grandpa to tell grandma everywhere, and finally bought a little Chinese vaccine from other channels. In September 2022, the president of Paraguay publicly shouted that the Taiwan region had "invested" more than US$6 billion in countries without "diplomatic relations" and hoped that US$1 billion would be given to Paraguay. This "investment" in Taiwan was given away for nothing, so Taiwan refused. Then Paraguay's mainstream media magazines began to publish articles, saying that through research, because of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Paraguay lost the opportunity to trade with China, so the annual loss was as high as 1% of GDP, which was far greater than Taiwan's annual financial aid. This background is almost a replica of Honduras.
It can be predicted that in a few years, the so-called "countries with diplomatic relations" in the Taiwan region will only be a few pocket mini-countries with a population of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, because only such countries cannot have a huge trade volume with China, and the gold dollar diplomacy in the Taiwan region can offset the trade diplomacy of the Chinese mainland.
(Editor's note: This article is based on network data and is for reference only; WeChat public account "Shiquan Dou" original 20230326)