Diplomatic Quarter (Taiwan)

The Diplomatic Quarter (Chinese: 使館特區; pinyin: Shǐguǎn Tèqū) is a building that houses most of Taiwan's foreign embassies, as well as the headquarters of the International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF). It is located in the Tianmu neighbourhood of Shilin District in the capital Taipei.^[2][3]

Diplomatic Quarter
使館特區
The Diplomatic Quarter, as seen from Lane 101, Tianmu West road (天母西路101巷)
General information
Type	Diplomatic building
Location	Shilin, Taipei, Taiwan
Coordinates	25.117248°N 121.524108°E / 25.117248; 121.524108
Construction started	1994[1]
Completed	1998[1]

Additionally, the term may refer to the area around this building, for example in the context of the housing market.^[4]

An eight-second montage showing flags in front of the Diplomatic Quarter, as seen on 31 October 2017.^[2][5] As of 2024, the Solomon Islands (first from left), Nicaragua (third from left), Honduras (fifth from left), the Dominican Republic (seventh from left), Burkina Faso (ninth from right), El Salvador, (eighth from right), Kiribati and Nauru (sixth and fifth from right respectively), no longer have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and as a result do not have their flags flying in front of the Diplomatic Quarter.

Tenants

• Embassy of Belize
• Embassy of Eswatini
• Embassy of Guatemala
• Embassy of Haiti
• Embassy of Marshall Islands
• Embassy of Palau
• Embassy of Paraguay
• Embassy of Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Embassy of Saint Lucia
• Embassy of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Embassy of Tuvalu
• Saudi Arabian Trade Office

2009 H1N1 case

See also: 2009 flu pandemic in Taiwan

On 15 June 2009 a female diplomat went to work inside the building after returning from a trip to the Americas. That afternoon, she felt uncomfortable and thus went home. On 16 June she was examined in the National Taiwan University Hospital and the day after it was known that the examination was positive for the Pandemic H1N1/09 virus. The story only went public after a delay, for which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was widely criticized as trying to keep the news hidden, endangering the health of other people inside the building and the general public.^[6][7][8]

See also

• List of diplomatic missions in Taiwan

References

1. "與使節面對面─一場別開生面的「敦親睦鄰」交誼會". Mofa News and Report. 29 (1). December 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
2. Wu, J.R. (23 December 2016). "Taiwan folds away the flags as China woos its allies". REUTERS.
3. "Directions to the ICDF". TaiwanICDF. 17 May 2004. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
4. "天母使館特區 環境清幽溪潺潺". 台灣蘋果日報. 8 November 2007.
5. Steger, Isabella (5 December 2016). "The unbearable sadness of being Taiwan, a liberal island other democracies refuse to talk to". Quartz Media LLC.
6. "議員痛批：使館特區爆新流感 外交部隱匿". The Liberty Times (自由時報). 19 June 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
7. 許, 甫 (18 June 2009). "國合會有人得H1N1 隱匿危及使館？". TVBS Media Inc.
8. "指責外交部隱匿新流感 綠議員：使館特區陷集體感染危機". NOWnews.com (今日傳媒). 18 June 2009. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.