China and Honduras held a ceremony on Wednesday to mark the second anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
The event was held in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, and was co-organized by the Chinese Embassy, the Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Culture.
Attendees included the vice chairman of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Leung Chun-ying, Honduran Vice President Doris Alejandrina Gutierrez, Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina, Annarella Velez Osejo, Minister of Culture of Honduras, Chinese Ambassador to Honduras Yu Bo, and other prominent figures.
Guests from both sides highly praised the fruitful achievements in various fields such as economy, trade, culture, education, and public health since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, expressing great expectations for the future development of bilateral relations.
"Based on the principle of mutual respect, [China-Honduras] relations are characterized by brotherly sentiments. [China] highly respects our culture and people. The two countries maintain continuous exchanges in various fields, especially in the technology sector where China has a leading advantage," said Gutierrez.
"We are very confident and [We] firmly believe that together with Honduras, we can further advance in strengthening and deepening strategic alignment, making joint efforts to promote the high-quality development of [bilateral relations] within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative," said Yu.
A friendly football match and the handover ceremony of 8,000 sets of youth football jerseys donated to Honduras were held on Wednesday morning.
Honduras celebrates two-year anniversary of diplomatic relations with China
Chen Binhua, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, on Wednesday condemned the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities for considering a ban on the use of mainland technology and products simply because they are effective and popular, calling this stance "absurd and ridiculous."
Chen's remarks came in response to comments from DPP members suggesting that the Chinese mainland's popular navigation app Amap might be prohibited and that the public should be advised against using it if so-called security concerns arise.
"The mainland has world-leading digital mapping, navigation, and location service technologies. Many of these applications have been widely used on the mainland and in some other countries and regions for years, meeting people's practical needs, making travel more time-efficient and convenient, and enriching their daily life. This is a concrete example of how technological development benefits humanity. In addition to Amap, the mainland also boasts many advanced technologies and high-quality innovative products. People on both sides of the Taiwan Straits are of one family and we are willing to let our Taiwan compatriots be the first to share in these benefits," Chen said at a press conference in Beijing.
"However, the DPP authorities, in their pursuit of Taiwan secession, have become so opposed to the mainland that their stance has turned anti-intellectual and anti-technology. Nearly 10 years into the DPP governance, Taiwan has witnessed a troubling phenomenon of ideological constraint and speech repression, epitomized by an inability to say no to the U.S. or to acknowledge the strengths of the mainland. Simply because mainland technologies and products are effective and popular among the people of Taiwan, the DPP authorities seek to prohibit or hinder their choice of the products. This reflects a jittery with imaginary fear, which is absurd and ridiculous. Such moves find little support and will not succeed," Chen said.
DPP's obstruction of popular mainland technology only proves "absurd, ridiculous": spokesman
