Honduras Asked For 'Billions Of Dollars' From 'Friend' Taiwan Before Long-Time Ally Ditched To Side Xi Jinping

Taiwan said Honduras asked for "billions of dollars" to maintain ties as Tegucigalpa formally announced a diplomatic shift to Xi Jinping's China on Sunday.

What Happened: Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said president Xiomara Castro – who took office early last year – and her government had “always had illusions” about Beijing and China’s “luring” had never stopped.

“The foreign ministry and embassy grasped the relevant information and handled it carefully. However, the Castro government also asked us for billions of dollars in huge economic assistance and compared prices for assistance programs provided by Taiwan and China,” Wu said, according to Reuters.

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This came after former long-time Taiwan ally, Honduras, cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan. "The government of the Republic of Honduras recognizes the existence of only one China in the world and that the government of the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government that represents all of China," Honduras said in a statement.

"Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory…"

Wu told the media that Honduran foreign minister Eduardo Enrique Reina wrote to Taiwan this month asking for almost $2.5 billion in aid, including a loan of $2 billion to help write off the debt as well as funds for the construction of a hospital and a dam. The letter addressed Wu as “a friend,” the publication added, who has seen a copy of the letter. 

“It felt like what they wanted was money, not a hospital,” Wu said.

Honduras is the ninth ally that Taiwan has lost to China since the Tsai Ing Wen government first took office.

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