History Making Month in Politics and Sports

members of both Houses were then hosted at a state luncheon at Leigh Richardson’s Building in Belmopan and a state dinner at the Museum of Belize at 7 p.m.

By Hon. Gilroy Usher, Port Loyola

“Today is the opportunity to build the tomorrow you want.”- Ken

Poirot

On Sunday April 2nd, 2023

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in Belize for a three-day visit— second visit to the country in five years. President Tsai and her delegation were welcomed to Belize at the PGIA by PM Briceño and several members of his government. Giving importance to the visit, on Monday, President Tsai addressed a joint session of parliament along with PM Briceño’s address. At 12pm,

As independent nations Belize and Taiwan have many things in common. We cherish democracy, freedom of speech and assembly, and the mixed economy. The latter embraces private ownership of the means of production with limited intervention by government to ensure the fundamental rights of the citizens for land, housing, educated, and jobs among other things are protected.

Both Belize and Taiwan also have to deal with the unjust and unfair expansionist desire of a large and more powerful neighbor. Guatemala claims a large portion of Belize. Over the years, Guatemala has been prevented from seizing the territory mainly by Britain, the mother country of Belize. With a population of 23 million Taiwan is claimed by China which has a population in excess of 1.4 billion. Taiwan’s main protector against a force takeover by China is the United States. Like Belize, its army is no match for that of its much larger neighbor. In 34 years of bilateral relationship, Taiwan has assisted Belize with budgetary support in addition to assistance with education, roads, disaster management and prevention, agriculture, vocational training and other. This visit included assistance with 5,000 laptops for the Ministry of Education. Funding for the construction of the needed hospital in San Pedro Town is to start soon, and arrangements for local fishermen to export 2 million US dollars’ worth of lobsters to Taiwan is coming up.

Belize has assisted Taiwan by being one of its true friends in the region and the wider world. Last month, as it did in the previous year, Belize passed a motion in the National Assembly that calls for the lifting of the ban that prevents Taiwan from a) participating in international forums such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization and b) playing its role in promoting development for a better world at home and abroad. As a true friend of Taiwan, in addressing the United Nations, Belize has always taken advantage of the opportunity to demand that the right of Taiwan as a democratic and independent country be fully re-