Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office

Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office

Chinese 台北經濟文化辦事處

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), also known as Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) or Taipei Representative Office (TRO) (Chinese: 台北經濟文化辦事處; pinyin: Táiběi Jīngjì Wénhùa Bànshìchù), is a representative office alternative to an embassy or a consulate which handles foreign affairs and citizen services of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in countries that have diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC, commonly "China"). Under the terms of the One China Policy stipulated by the PRC, such countries may not have diplomatic relations with the Republic of China, as the PRC denies the status of ROC as a sovereign state and claims Taiwan as part of its China. As a result, these countries do not allow the ROC to establish an "official" embassy or consulate but instead allow the ROC to establish these representative offices to conduct unofficial government relations with the host countries.

These establishments use the term "Taipei" instead of "Taiwan" or "ROC" since the term "Taipei" avoids implying that Taiwan is a different country on a par with the PRC or that there are "Two Chinas", the PRC and the ROC, both of which would cause difficulties for their host countries.

TECROs state that their aim is "to promote bilateral trade, investment, culture, science and technology exchanges and cooperation, as well as better understanding", although they perform many of the same functions as a normal embassy or consulate general, like issuing visas and passports.

TECROs in the United States enjoy many diplomatic privileges such as extraterritoriality, providing consular protection and their staff have diplomatic immunity.[1] Other countries also establish reciprocal representative offices in Taiwan, such as the American Institute in Taiwan, Canadian Trade Office in Taipei and Interchange Association, Japan.

TECO in the United States

Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States in Washington, D.C.
TECRO in Japan
TRO in the Netherlands
The building hosting the TECO in Hong Kong
The building hosting the TECO in Macau
The building hosting TECO branch office in Sydney, Australia
The building hosting the TETO in Jakarta, Indonesia
The building hosting the TRO in Singapore

Originally called the Coordination Council for North American Affairs (CCNAA). As a result of the Clinton Administration's Taiwan Policy Review of 1994, the name of the CCNAA office in Washington, D.C. (the "embassy") was changed to "Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office" (TECRO),[2] while the names of the twelve other CCNAA offices ("consulates") in the United States were changed to "Taipei Economic and Cultural Office" (TECO).[3]

U.S. TECO Representatives

TECO in Japan

Diplomatic relations between ROC and Japan were broken off in September 1972. For practical reasons, the Association of East Asian Relations (EARA), was established in two months after Japan-China Joint Communique was signed. EARA had offices in Taipei, Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka. In 1992, Japan authorized the change in name of EARA to TECRO, a move that was followed by U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1994.

However, the situation in Okinawa was different. Okinawa was occupied by the United States since the end of World War II until 1972, and its name under the occupation was Ryukyu. In 1958, the ROC established Sino-Ryukyuan Cultural and Economic Association. After Okinawa's return to Japan in May 1972 and the severance of diplomatic relations in September, the Office in Okinawa remained with the same name. This office, under a different title, had existed simultaneously with the TECRO offices in Japan until 2006, when the office in Okinawa was merged into the Office in Tokyo.

This curiosity may have arisen because the Ryūkyū Kingdom was a tributary state of China (the Ming and Qing Dynasties) before the 19th century, and consequently the ROC, as the successor government of the Qing, may for historical reasons have distinguished Okinawa from Japan. However, in 2006, Taiwan officially acknowledged that Okinawa is now part of Japan.

Japan TECO Representatives

Representation in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, from 1966, Taiwan was represented by the 'Chung Hwa Travel Service', a name chosen to avoid upsetting Beijing.[4] On 20 July 2011, as a result of warming relations between Taiwan and Beijing, the name was formally changed to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, bringing it into line with other Republic of China representative offices around the world.[5]

Representation in Macau

In Macau, from 1989 to 1999, Taiwan was represented by the 'Taipei Trade and Tourism Office', Taiwan's first-time representation in Macau after Kuomintang's expulsion from Macau as the consequence of the December 3rd Incident in 1966. From 1999 to 2011, Taiwan was represented by the 'Taipei Economic and Cultural Center'. On 13 May 2012, the name was formally changed to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office.[6]

TRO in the United Kingdom

In 1950, the UK switched recognition from the Republic of China to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), while maintaining the British Consulate in Tamsui, through which the UK continued to carry out consular and trade-related activities. The Consulate was closed after the UK and the PRC upgraded relations to Ambassadorial level in March 1972, and in June 1980 the building and land of the Consulate were returned to the Taiwanese government. The ROC government’s office in the UK was set up in September 1963, and at the time was known as the Free Chinese Centre. On 15 April 1992, this was revised to become the Taipei Representative Office in the UK.

Taipei representative offices around the world

The list below shows the countries or regions where TECROs/TROs are established.

Country or RegionOffice NameRepresentativeWebsite
 Argentina Oficina Comercial y Cultural de Taipei en Argentina Matthew S. Lee
 Australia Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia David Lee
 Austria Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Vienna, Austria Chen Lien-gene
 Bahrain Trade Mission of Taiwan in the Kingdom of Bahrain Michael Chen
 Belgium Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium Tung Kuo-yu
 Brazil Escritório Econômico e Cultural de Taipei no Brasil Shyu Guang-pu
 Brunei Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Brunei Darussalam Albert Huang
 Canada Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada Bruce Linghu
 Chile Oficina Economica y Cultural de Taipei Wang Ming-wen
 Colombia Oficina Comercial de Taipei en Bogota, Colombia Tang Ji-zen
 Czech Republic Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Prague, Czech Republic Hsueh Mei-yu
 Denmark Taipei Representative Office in Denmark Lily Hsu
 Ecuador Oficina Comercial de la República de China (Taiwán), Quito, Ecuador Rolando Chuang
 Fiji Trade Mission of the Republic of China to the Republic of Fiji Chang Ming
 Finland Taipei Representative Office in Finland Lin Ching-lien
 France Bureau de Représentation de Taipei en France Michel Lu
 Germany Taipeh Vertretung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland Chen Hwa-yue
 Greece Taipei Representative Office in Greece Agnes Chen
 Hong Kong Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong James Chu[7]
 Hungary Taipei Representative Office, Budapest, Hungary Marietta Kao Liau
 Indonesia Taipei Economic and Trade Office, Jakarta, Indonesia Chang Liang-jen[8]
 India Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India Lee Chao-cheng[9]
 Ireland Taipei Representative Office in Ireland Harry Tseng
 Israel Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Tel Aviv Chi Yun-sheng[10]
 Italy Ufficio di Rappresentanza di Taipei in Italia Stanley Kao
 Japan Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan Shen Ssu-tsun
 Jordan Commercial Office of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Amman Chang Yun-ping
 Kuwait Taipei Commercial Representative Office in the State of Kuwait Liu Kuo-hsing
 Latvia Taipei Mission in the Republic of Latvia Ko Kuang-yueh
 Macau Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Macau Lu Chang-shui[11]
 Malaysia Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia Lo Yu-chung
 Mexico Oficina Económica y Cultural de Taipei en México Carlos Liao
 Mongolia Taipei Trade and Economic Representative Office in Ulaanbaatar Yang Syin-yi
 Netherlands Taipei Representative Office in the Netherlands James Lee
 New Zealand Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New Zealand Charng Yii-Lih
 Nigeria The Trade Mission of the ROC (Taiwan), Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria Yang Tien-hsing
 Norway Taipei Representative Office in Norway Victor Yu
 Oman Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Muscat, Oman Liao Kang-min
 Papua New Guinea Trade Mission of the Republic of China (on Taiwan) in Papua New Guinea Hu Chun-pu
 Peru Oficina Económica y Cultural de Taipei, Lima, República del Perú Alejandro Huang
 Philippines Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines Lin Song-huann
 Poland Biuro Gospodarcze i Kulturalne Tajpej Chen Ming-cheng[12]
 Portugal Centro Económico e Cultural de Taipei Her Jian-gueng
 Russia Representative Office in Moscow for the Taipei-Moscow Economic and Cultural Coordination Commission Chen Chun-shen
 Saudi Arabia Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Lin Jinn-jong
 Singapore Taipei Representative Office in Singapore Jacob Chang
 Slovakia Taipei Representative Office, Bratislava Andrew Chang
 South Africa Taipei Liaison Office in the Republic of South Africa Michael Hsu
 South Korea Taipei Mission in Korea Benjamin Liang
 Spain Oficina Económica y Cultural de Taipei Javier Hou
 Sweden Taipei Mission in Sweden Leo Chen-Jan Lee
  Switzerland Taipei Cultural and Economic Delegation in Switzerland Liu Bang-zyh
 Thailand Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand Henry Chen
 Turkey Taipei Economic and Cultural Mission in Ankara James Chen
 United Arab Emirates Commercial Office of the Republic of China to Dubai, UAE Chang Wang-lu
 United Kingdom Taipei Representative Office in the U.K. Liu Chih-kung
 United States Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States Shen Lyu-shun
 Vietnam Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Hanoi, Vietnam Huang Chih-peng

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office.

References

  1. ↑ New Taiwan-U.S. diplomatic immunity pact a positive move: scholar, Taipei Mission, 12 Feb 2013
  2. ↑ Taiwan's Relations with Mainland China: A Tail Wagging Two Dogs, Chi Su Routledge, 2008, page 31
  3. ↑ "1994 Taiwan Policy Review." Formosan Association for Public Affairs. Retrieved on January 28, 2009.
  4. ↑ Is name change a game changer?, Taipei Times, 17 July 2011
  5. ↑ Taiwan changes name of HK office, RTHK News, 15 July 2011
  6. ↑ Macau representative office in Taiwan opens The China Post, May 14, 2012
  7. ↑ "Activity Highlights". Eccpc.org.hk. Retrieved 2014-06-09.
  8. ↑ "Taiwan's names new representative to Indonesia - Taiwan News Online". Taiwannews.com.tw. 2013-11-22. Retrieved 2014-06-09.
  9. ↑ http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201507080031.aspx
  10. ↑ "Taiwan's new representative to Israel to assume duties this week | Politics | FOCUS TAIWAN - CNA ENGLISH NEWS". Focustaiwan.tw. Retrieved 2014-06-09.
  11. ↑ "Taiwan’s man in Macau has creative approach". Macau Business Daily. Retrieved 2014-06-09.
  12. ↑ http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201507080031.aspx

External links

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