Photo: DPM Cordel Hyde meets Taiwan Vice President, H.E. Hsiao Bi-khim on October 9, 2024
BELIZE CITY, Mon. Oct. 14, 2024
There are very few official trips abroad that Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Cordel Hyde has made since returning to office in November 2020, but last week he took the long overseas trip to the Republic of China (Taiwan). It marked his first visit to the East Asian nation. He described the whirlwind visit from October 8 to 12 as an expression of gratitude for Taiwan’s diplomatic alliance with Belize that entered its 35th year in 2024. Hyde’s visit also coincided with the 113th Commemoration of Taiwan’s National Day on October 10, during which recently elected president Dr. Lai Ching-te delivered his first National Day Address.
Apart from the Deputy Prime Minister’s visit with Belizean students currently in Taiwan—a meet and greet organized by the Embassy of Belize in Taiwan, another highlight of the high-level trip was a meeting with Taiwan Vice President, H.E. Hsiao Bi-khim on October 9. They both delivered speeches, after which the two delegations fielded questions from the media. The Belize delegation included Belize Ambassador to Taiwan, H.E. Dr. Candice Pitts. Vice President Hsiao commended the relationship between the two countries and expressed gratitude for Belize’s continued advocacy for Taiwan to take its rightful place on the world stage in various international organizations.
Belize remains one of a dozen countries who have maintained diplomatic relations with Taiwan, as states around the world yield to the sway of the People’s Republic of China, which claims Taiwan as its own. Hon. Hyde affirmed on his visit that Taiwan will always have a friend in Belize. In fact, he described the two nations as best of friends. In his brief speech he remarked, “Our countries are about independence and democracy and justice and the right to self-determination. Our histories may be different, but our present is the same. We want the same things. We just want to be left alone to live and grow and flourish – and establish our pre-eminence in the world … Today more than ever, we celebrate your right to self-determination and self-identification. Relationships that last 35 years say something …We’ve been faithful and loyal to each other … And if we didn’t divorce before, we are not about to divorce now.”
DPM Hyde hailed the collaboration between the two countries and said the partner nations have signed agreements in every area imaginable. He emphasized how beneficial these agreements have been for the people of Belize. In regard to education, Hon. Hyde noted, “So many hundreds of our brightest minds have been imbued by your country and your values.” He concluded, “You’ve been there for our country in the worst of times and continue to be in the best of times … On behalf of our students, our farmers, our women and a grateful nation, we thank you. You have been actively involved in just about every sector of our economy and country.”
As part of the packed agenda planned for him, Hon. Hyde met with Taiwan’s Minister of National Development Council, H.E. Liu Ching-Ching. He also got to visit the International Center for Land Policy Studies and Training, and the Hsinchu Science Park Bureau.
DPM Hyde was joined on the working visit by his CEO, Paul Thompson, and Legal Advisor in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Petroleum and Mining, Jhawn Graham.