HONDURAS: Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian arrives in Honduras to begin his Central American tour

Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian arrives in Honduras to kick off a Central American tour he hopes will strengthen ties with his country. Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian arrived in Honduras on Tuesday (August 21) for the first leg of a Central American tour. Honduran President, Manuel Zelaya, greeted his Taiwanese counterpart late Tuesday afternoon. Chen is in Central America to shore up diplomatic ties as China pressures countries in the region to abandon an island Beijing claims as its own. Chen will attend the Taiwan-Central American and Dominican Republic Leaders Summit on Thursday (August 23) to discuss energy and environmental issues. Then he will head to El Salvador and Nicaragua where he will hold private meetings with those leaders. In June, Costa Rica cut ties with Taiwan after 63 years and established relations with China. The switch cut Taiwan's diplomatic allies to 24, compared to China's

ITN Source | August 22, 2007

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