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The United States' back garden is lost again, and Taiwan's diplomatic relations are reduced by one more country; The establishment of diplomatic relations between Hong Kong and China is a historical necessity

author:Come on Louis

On the afternoon of 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 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Honduras stated 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. As of today, Honduras severed "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan and ceased all contacts and official contacts with Taiwan.

After the news came out, Taiwan's foreign affairs department urgently issued a notice of a temporary press conference on the 26th, holding a press conference at 9:30 a.m., and before China formally established diplomatic relations with Honduras, Wu Zhaoxie, head of Taiwan's foreign affairs department, officially announced that Taiwan and Honduras had severed diplomatic relations.

On the morning of the 26th, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang signed the "Joint Communiqué of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Honduras on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations" with Honduran Foreign Minister Reina in Beijing, announcing the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The United States' back garden is lost again, and Taiwan's diplomatic relations are reduced by one more country; The establishment of diplomatic relations between Hong Kong and China is a historical necessity

Judging from the reaction of Taiwan's "pseudo-diplomatic department", it seems that Honduras did not notify the Taiwan side of the decision to sever diplomatic relations in advance. Taiwan can only hold a temporary press conference to save a little face before China and Hong Kong formally establish diplomatic relations.

The severance of diplomatic relations comes before Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen plans to "visit" Guatemala and Belize in Central America and visit the United States, presumably Tsai Ing-wen will not be very happy even if she can get some benefits from her American father. Moreover, on the 30th local time, when Tsai Ing-wen visited the United States, the American anti-war organization Center for Political Innovation (CPIUSA) protested in front of her hotel, "Tsai Ing-wen is peddling war", "stop arms sales to Taiwan", "get out of our country", "China is not our enemy". There are also more and more people in the United States who are soberly aware that using Taiwan as a pawn to control and contain China is harmful and unhelpful.

The United States' back garden is lost again, and Taiwan's diplomatic relations are reduced by one more country; The establishment of diplomatic relations between Hong Kong and China is a historical necessity

Before Tsai Ing-wen stayed at the hotel, anti-war activists protested Tsai's misdemeanor

Of course, it is also possible that Tsai Ing-wen does not care about this matter, after all, this is the ninth country to cut off diplomatic relations with Taiwan since she came to power in 2016. Tsai Ing-wen also said in a speech on the 26th that Taiwan will not engage in meaningless money diplomacy competition with Chinese mainland, and Chinese mainland approach cannot reduce Taiwan's will to go global. It seems that Taiwan did not keep a few countries with diplomatic relations by exporting economic aid, accepting high-level bribes from countries with diplomatic relations and protecting the United States, but in fact, Tsai's gold dollar diplomacy has long been known.

When Tsai took office in 2016, Taiwan still had 22 so-called diplomatic relations.

In 2016, Sao Tome and Principe severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan;

In 2017, Panama severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan;

In 2018, Dominica, Burkina Faso, and El Salvador severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan;

In 2019, Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Taiwan severed diplomatic relations;

In 2021, Nicaragua severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan;

In 2023, Honduras severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

So far, only 13 countries with diplomatic relations with Taiwan remain: Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, Belize, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Guatemala, Haiti, Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Eswatini and the Vatican.

Half of these countries are in the back garden of the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and four more countries are in the Pacific; Eight countries are island countries. Its largest land area in China is Paraguay, with about 400,000 square kilometers, about the same as Yunnan. The country's highest population and GDP are Guatemala, with a population of 18.6 million in 2022, which is similar to the permanent population of Guangzhou; In 2021, the country's GDP was worth about US$86 billion, which is about one-fifth of Guangzhou's GDP.

These are small countries with small economies and marginal countries. There may be only two values of Taiwan to these countries, one is to "pay tribute" and the other is to listen to the words of US imperialism. Some of these countries have been or are still under the manipulation of the United States in history, and the authorities need stable economic assistance or political resources from the United States, and not severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan may be one of the conditions. Other countries, on the other hand, just want money: my conditions are here, you don't give it, if you are willing to give it, I will sell you face and continue to be nice to you. This is a request for unilateral provision. When the authorities of the state cannot derive from Taiwan the equivalent value of establishing relations with China, then the severance of diplomatic relations is inevitable.

With China's step-by-step rise, whether it is China's international political influence, the products that China can provide, or China's voice in the international economic and trade system, Taiwan has to pay more and more price.

On the other hand, the visible decline in the national strength of the United States, unable to continue to provide sufficient economic support, feed a group of followers, and lose control over other countries, can only choose to undermine the domestic political stability of other countries, hoping to ensure the "security" of the United States.

Take Honduras, for example. Former Honduran President Hernandez was twice elected president of the country with the support of the United States, but the United States under Trump put America first, ignoring the wailing of its own backyard, and the Biden administration also took care of itself due to the reality after taking office. But I am not benevolent, you cannot be unrighteous, and if I do not give you benefits, you must be obedient.

In 2018, Hernandez's brother was arrested at the Miami airport for drug trafficking, and the United States seemed to not give face to the younger brother at all, and faintly threatened to show muscles. Later, due to the coronavirus epidemic and hurricanes, the people of Honduras were overwhelmed and complained, and the government had to turn to China for help. But years of bad deeds have long since left the ruling party without its popular base. In the elections at the end of 2021, the left-wing opposition candidate Castro defeated the right-wing ruling party candidate backed by the United States and was successfully elected president. So Hernandez's last ounce of value becomes a chicken killed for monkeys: If you don't obey, I, the United States, will find ways to get you into trouble.

In January 2022, shortly after Hernández left office, the United States formally launched drug and arms trafficking charges against him. At the request of the United States, Hernandez was arrested at his home in February and extradited back to the United States for trial in April. Ironically, it was his own government's approval of judicial reforms that made his extradition to the United States possible.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the United Fruit Company and the Standard Fruit Company seized a large area of land in the coastal plain of northern Honduras to develop banana plantations, providing a steady stream of agricultural products for whites; Under the manipulation of American agricultural giants, Honduras formed a single economic structure dominated by banana cultivation, known as the "banana republic". Although under the baptism of hurricanes, floods, and blight, agricultural giants were forced to loosen their control over Honduras, and now the people of Honduras have gained a certain degree of autonomy, and the industrial institutions have finally changed a little, but the government has long been rotten into a sieve, and it does not know how to develop the country, and the top can only condone or even participate in drug trafficking to make money. The state agency has in fact become a giant gangster.

Nearly 200 years after independence, agriculture remained the dominant economy in Honduras, with a weak industrial base and a heavy dependence on banana and coffee exports. So for the current president, how to choose between Chinese mainland and Taiwan is a matter of clear pros and cons. If the country wants to develop and the people want to improve their lives, the economy must be able to rise. The United States and Taiwan can no longer provide more value to Honduras, and the unilateral diplomacy of US hegemony cannot exercise actual control over the Honduran government. On the other hand, Chinese mainland the huge economic value provided by the mainland market alone cannot be offset by Taiwan's diplomacy with gold dollars, not to mention the assistance that China may provide to Honduras in the future, such as infrastructure, technology, personnel and other aspects, which can better help Honduras develop.

In addition, Castro's ability to defeat another candidate backed by the United States partly reflects the dissatisfaction of the Honduran people with the United States. Castro repeatedly stated that he wanted to establish diplomatic relations with China at the beginning of his campaign, and now that the regime is stable, he naturally has to fulfill some campaign promises.

Therefore, whether politically or economically, we can find that the establishment of diplomatic relations between Honduras and China is a historical necessity. And it is certain that Taiwan's remaining countries with diplomatic relations will also have new trends in the near future.

And we also hope that Honduras can seize the historical opportunity and work with China to better and faster develop itself.

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