Foreign minister mum on invitation to pro-Taiwan Honduran politician

Taipei, April 1 (CNA) Taiwan's top diplomat on Wednesday stopped short of confirming whether the country plans to invite the pro-Taiwan speaker of Honduras' National Congress for a visit.

Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), severed ties with the Central American country three years ago but has still "maintained close connections and interactions with our friends there."

Lin said he is aware that National Congress Speaker Tomás Zambrano has openly supported restoring ties with Taiwan, and that his stance has public backing.

"We will continue to invite important political figures from non-diplomatic partners -- including those from Europe and the South Pacific -- to Taiwan," Lin said, without confirming whether the ministry planned to invite Zambrano.

Lin was responding at a legislative hearing to a question from ruling party lawmaker Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), a member of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, who said he believed Zambrano would be visiting Taiwan in the near future and asked Lin for confirmation.

According to Wang, Zambrano -- then an opposition lawmaker -- warned that former President Xiomara Castro's decision to sever ties with the ROC in favor of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was a mistake.

After being elected speaker of the Congress in January, Zambrano reiterated his support for Taipei over Beijing, saying the shift in diplomatic ties had hurt local businesses.

More than 15,000 jobs were lost in the shrimp industry alone, he said, citing Honduran media reports.

Meanwhile, when asked by Wang about progress made toward restoring ties, Lin simply said that Taipei maintained an open attitude toward friendly exchanges with Honduras and that bilateral communications remained smooth, without elaborating.

Earlier this week, the ministry described as "pure speculation" a Honduran media report claiming that Taiwan could soon send a delegation to the former ally to explore resuming relations.

Honduras' new president, Nasry Asfura, who took office in January, had pledged during his campaign to restore ties with Taipei. Diplomatic relations were severed in 2023 under Castro in favor of the PRC, ending an 82-year alliance.