《TAIPEI TIMES》 President Tsai to meet Honduran delegation today

By Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

A delegation led by Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez is this morning to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） during its three-day trip in Taiwan, the government said yesterday, amid media reports that the nations’ diplomatic ties could be jeopardized by Beijing’s influence.

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The Central American country with a population of about 9.4 million is one of Taiwan’s 15 diplomatic allies.

Hernandez was in Washington on Wednesday to present a report on the accomplishments of his administration before he left for Taiwan at Tsai’s invitation, his office said in a statement on Wednesday.

Hernandez, who has been in office since 2014, cannot seek re-election in the Nov. 28 presidential election.

Tsai is to meet him at the Presidential Office and hold a luncheon for the 11-person delegation before it departs tomorrow, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang （張惇涵） said in a statement yesterday.

This is Hernandez’s fourth visit to Taiwan, and his three children are studying or working in Taiwan, Chang said.

The delegation’s visit on the 80th anniversary of the nations’ ties is particularly meaningful, he added.

The countries have been working closely in areas such as the economy, trade, healthcare, education, social welfare, infrastructure, women’s empowerment, agriculture and fisheries, Chang said.

Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs Lisandro Rosales, a member of the delegation, would be awarded the Order of Brilliant Star with Special Grand Cordon, and visit the Central American Bank for Economic Integration’s Taiwan office, which opened in July, the ministry said.

The Tegucigalpa-based bank’s Taiwan office is its first outside Central America, the ministry said.

The government is closely monitoring Honduras’ upcoming presidential election, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou （歐江安） said on Tuesday, following media reports that Honduran opposition presidential candidate Xiomara Castro vowed to build diplomatic and commercial relations with China.

The ministry has a full grasp of China’s attempts to sabotage diplomatic relations between Taiwan and its allies, Ou added.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES