Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (Chinese: 駐美國臺北經濟文化代表處; pinyin: Zhù Měiguó Táiběi Jīngjì Wénhuà Dàibiǎo Chù) represents the interests of Taiwan in the United States in the absence of formal diplomatic relations, functioning as a de facto embassy. Its counterpart in Taiwan is the office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in Taipei.^[1]

Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States

駐美國臺北經濟文化代表處
Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States
Agency overview
Jurisdiction	United States  Cuba  Bahamas  Grenada  Antigua and Barbuda  Trinidad and Tobago  Dominica  Nicaragua
Headquarters	Washington, D.C., United States
Agency executive	Alexander Yui, Representative
Parent agency	Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China
Website	Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States

History

Prior to 1979, the Republic of China (Taiwan) was represented in Washington by its embassy, occupying the building now used by Haiti.^[2] After the transfer of recognition to the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China was no longer recognized by the United States, and therefore no longer entitled to use the former embassy, with its diplomatic mission replaced by the current Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office. The mission serves as the office of the Coordination Council for North American Affairs (CCNAA) in Washington, D.C., established in 1979 as the counterpart to the American Institute in Taiwan, after the United States established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.^[3][4] The council was renamed Taiwan Council for US Affairs in 2019.^[5][6]

The ROC embassy in the US from 1944 to 1978, on Embassy Row (now Embassy of Haiti)

In 1994, as a result of the Clinton Administration's Taiwan Policy Review, the name of the CCNAA office in Washington, D.C. (which functioned as an embassy) was changed to Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO).^[7] Similarly, the names of the twelve other CCNAA offices (which functioned as consulates) were changed to Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO).^[8]

In September 2020, the US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft met with Amb. James K.J. Lee, Director-General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, who was secretary-general in Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs until July, for lunch in New York City in what was the first meeting between a top Taiwan official and a United States ambassador to the United Nations.^[9] Craft said she and Lee discussed ways the US can help Taiwan become more engaged within the U.N.^[9]

List of Representatives

Alexander Yui, ROC representative to the United States.

Representatives (CCNAA)

• James Shen (1 January 1979 – 9 May 1979)
• Konsin Shah, 1979–81
• Cai Weipin, 1981–82
• Fredrick Chien (19 November 1982 – 20 July 1988)
• Ting Mao-shih, 1988–94

Representatives

• Benjamin Lu, 1994–96^[10]
• Jason Hu, 1996–97
• Stephen S. F. Chen (1997–2000)
• Chen Chien-jen (30 June 2000 – 20 May 2004)
• David Lee (25 July 2004 – 10 April 2007)
• Joseph Wu (10 April 2007 – 26 July 2008)
• Jason Yuan (4 August 2008 – 27 September 2012)
• King Pu-tsung (27 September 2012 – 24 March 2014)
• Shen Lyu-shun (1 April 2014 – 5 June 2016)^[10]
• Stanley Kao (5 June 2016 – 24 July 2020)
• Hsiao Bi-khim (24 July 2020 – 30 November 2023)
• Alexander Yui (12 December 2023 – present)

Consular districts by missions

Mission		Consular district
	Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States	Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Delaware
	Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston	Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont
	Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York	New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut
	Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami	Florida, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands and the Dominican Republic
	Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Atlanta	Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina
	Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago	Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin
	Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston	Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma
	Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Denver (relocated from TECO in Kansas City, Missouri since 17 April 2015)	Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota
	Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles	Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico
	Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco	Northern California (north of Visalia), Nevada and Utah
	Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Seattle	Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Alaska
	Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Honolulu	Hawaii, American Samoa and Palmyra Atoll
	Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Guam (merged into consular jurisdiction of Embassy in Palau, from 31 August 2017 to 2020. Restored consular post in Guam since summer 2020.)	Guam and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)

Representation in U.S. Congress

Including:

• Law firm Alston & Bird with former Senator Bob Dole as registered lobbyist, with a $25,000 monthly retainer; two decades of representation by Dole as of 2016. He died in 2021.
• Richard A. Gephardt, former Congressman, a $25,000-a-month contract; 2016.
• Thomas A. Daschle, former Senator, a $25,000-a-month contract; since 2015.^[11]

See also

• Diplomatic missions in the United States
• Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office
• Twin Oaks Estate

References

1. "American Institute in Taiwan".
2. James M. Goode (2003). "Capital Losses: A Cultural History of Washington's Destroyed Buildings". Smithsonian Books. p. 264. ISBN 1588341054.
3. Courage and fortitude, Taiwan Review, 1 May 1979
4. For U.S. Quasi-Embassy in Taiwan, Silence is Golden, The Washington Post, 4 September 1980
5. "台美關係突破!「北美事務協調委員會」更名「台灣美國事務委員會」 - 政治". 新頭殼 Newtalk. 25 May 2019.
6. "The Coordination Council for North American Affairs renamed the Taiwan Council for US Affairs". Taipei Times. 26 May 2019.
7. Su, Chi, Taiwan's Relations with Mainland China: A Tail Wagging Two Dogs (at Google Books), (Routledge, 2009), page 31.
8. "1994 Taiwan Policy Review." Formosan Association for Public Affairs. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
9. Edith M. Lederer (17 September 2020). "US envoy to United Nations meets with Taiwan official in NY". ABC News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020.
10. Tsao, Nadia, US demands replacement of Taiwan representative, Taipei Times, 10 January 2015.
11. Davis, Julie Hirschfeld, and Eric Lipton, "Bob Dole Worked Behind the Scenes on Trump-Taiwan Call 点击查看本文中文版", The New York Times, 6 December 2016. Retrieved 2016-12-07.

External links

• Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States
• Taiwan in the US on Facebook
• Taiwan mission to the US on Instagram
• Taiwan in the US on Twitter