Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, also known as Taipei Economic and Cultural Office or Taipei Representative Office, is an alternative to an embassy or a consulate which handles the foreign affairs and citizen services of the Republic of China in countries that have diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of 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 territory. 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.
Except in the United States and Japan, these establishments use the term "Taipei" instead of "Taiwan", "ROC" or even the term "Nationalist China" 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 an embassy or consulate general, such as issuing visas and passports. In this respect, they function as de facto embassies.
TECROs in the United States enjoy many diplomatic privileges such as extraterritoriality, providing consular protection and their staff have diplomatic immunity. Other countries also establish reciprocal representative offices in Taiwan, such as the American Institute in Taiwan, Canadian Trade Office in Taipei and Japan–Taiwan Exchange Association.
History
Following the admission of the PRC to the United Nations in 1971, many countries began to establish diplomatic relations with the government in Beijing, and as a consequence, ended diplomatic relations with the Nanjing-based ROC Government stationer in Taipei. In order to maintain trade and cultural ties with countries with which it no longer had diplomatic relations, Taiwan established representative offices in these countries, often replacing its former embassies.Before the 1990s, the names of these offices would vary considerably from country to country, usually omitting any reference to "Taiwan" or "Republic of China", instead referring to "East Asia", "Far East" or "Free China". They would also describe themselves as "centres" or "offices", concerned with trade, tourism, culture or information, thereby emphasising their private and unofficial status, despite being staffed by Ministry of Foreign Affairs personnel.
For example, in Japan, the former ROC Embassy was replaced by the "Association of East Asian Relations" in 1972. In Malaysia, following the closure of the Consulate General in Kuala Lumpur in 1974, an office known as the Far East Travel and Trade Centre was established. In the Philippines, the former Embassy in Manila was replaced by the "Pacific Economic and Cultural Center", established in 1975. In Thailand, the former Embassy in Bangkok was replaced by the "Office of the Representative of China Airlines" in 1975. This was later renamed the Far East Trade Office in 1980.
In the United States, Taipei's mission, established in 1979, was known as the "Coordination Council for North American Affairs". As of 2019, it has been renamed "Taiwan Council for US Affairs."
In the United Kingdom, Taiwan was represented by the "Free Chinese Centre", established in 1963. In West Germany, it was represented by a Büro der Fernost-Informationen established in 1972. In Spain, the office, established in 1973, was known as the Centro Sun Yat-sen. In the Netherlands, the office was known as the "Far East Trade Office".
However, in the late 1980s, these offices began using the name "Taipei" in their titles. In May 1992, the AEAR offices in Japan became Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Offices. The "Free Chinese Centre" in London was similarly renamed the "Taipei Representative Office". In September 1994, the Clinton Administration announced that the CCNAA office in Washington could similarly be called the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office.
, Australia
Earlier in 1989, the "Pacific Economic and Cultural Center" in Manila became the "Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines". In 1991, the "Taiwan Marketing Service" office in Canberra, Australia, established in 1988, also became a "Taipei Economic and Cultural Office", along with the "Far East Trading Company" offices in Sydney and Melbourne.
Other names are still used elsewhere; for example, the mission in Moscow is formally known as the "Representative Office in Moscow for the Taipei-Moscow Economic and Cultural Coordination Commission", the mission in New Delhi is known as the "Taipei Economic and Cultural Center". The mission in Pretoria is known as the "Taipei Liaison Office".
The two most recent ones to change their official names, in Papua New Guinea and in Jordan, both use the name Taipei Economic and Cultural Office.
TECRO in the United States
Originally called the Coordination Council for North American Affairs, the name of the CCNAA office in Washington, D.C. was changed to "Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office" as a result of the Clinton Administration's Taiwan Policy Review of 1994. Similarly, the names of the twelve other CCNAA offices in the United States were changed to "Taipei Economic and Cultural Office".On May 24, 2019, Taiwan informed that "the Coordination Council for North American Affairs" was renamed "the Taiwan Council for U.S. Affairs".
TECRO in Japan
Diplomatic relations between the Republic of China and Japan were broken off in September 1972. For practical reasons, the Association of East Asian Relations, was established two months after the Japan-China Joint Communique was signed. EARA had offices in Taipei, Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka. In 1992, Japan authorized the change in name of AEAR to TECRO.Representations in the PRC Special administrative regions
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, from 1966, Taiwan was represented by the 'Chung Hwa Travel Service', a name chosen to avoid upsetting Beijing. 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.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.TRO in the United Kingdom
In 1950, the UK switched recognition from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China shortly after its establishment, 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. In 1992, this was revised to become the Taipei Representative Office in the UK.Taipei Representative Office in Norway
The Taipei Representative Office in Norway; was a diplomatic mission of Taiwan to Norway functioned as a de facto embassy. The first representative office of Taiwan in Norway was the Taipei Trade Centre, established in 1980.In July 2017, the ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the office will be suspended on 30 September 2017 and affairs related to Taiwanese in the country will be handled by Taipei Mission in Sweden. The decision was made to improve the efficiency of the foreign diplomatic missions of Taiwan.
Taipei representative offices around the world
The list below shows the countries or regions where TECROs/TROs are established.| Country or Region | Office Name | Representative | Website |
| Oficina Comercial y Cultural de Taipei en Argentina | Antonio Hsieh | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia | Elliott Charng | ||
| Taipei Economic and Culture Office in Austria | Vanessa Shih | ||
| Taipei Trade Office in the Kingdom of Bahrain | Michael Chen | ||
| Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium | Tung Kuo-yu | ||
| Escritório Econômico e Cultural de Taipei no Brasil | Her Jiang-gueng | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Brunei Darussalam | Andrew Lee | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada | Winston Chen | ||
| Oficina Económica y Cultural de Taipei en Chile | Diego Wen | ||
| Oficina Comercial de Taipei en Bogotá, Colombia | Tang Ji-zen | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Prague, Czech Republic | Hsueh Mei-yu | ||
| Taipei Representative Office in Denmark | Lee Shying-jow | ||
| Oficina Comercial de Taipei | Rolando Chuang | ||
| Taipei Trade Office in Fiji | Chang Ming | ||
| Taipei Representative Office in Finland | Lin Ching-lien | ||
| Bureau de Représentation de Taipei en France | Wu Chih-chung | ||
| Taipeh Vertretung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland | Chen Hwa-yue | ||
| Taipei Representative Office in Greece | Agnes Chen | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong | James Chu | ||
| Taipei Representative Office, Budapest, Hungary | Marietta Kao Liau | ||
| Taipei Economic and Trade Office, Jakarta, Indonesia | John C. Chen | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India | Tien Chung-kwang | ||
| Taipei Representative Office in Ireland | Yang Tzu-pao | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Tel Aviv | Chi Yun-sheng | ||
| Ufficio di Rappresentanza di Taipei in Italia | Stanley Kao | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan | Frank Hsieh | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Jordan | Chang Yun-ping | ||
| Taipei Commercial Representative Office in the State of Kuwait | Liu Kuo-hsing | ||
| Taipei Mission in the Republic of Latvia | Andy Chin | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Macau | Lu Chang-shui | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia | Lo Yu-chung | ||
| Oficina Económica y Cultural de Taipei en México | Carlos Liao | ||
| Taipei Trade and Economic Representative Office in Ulaanbaatar | Yang Syin-yi | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Myanmar | Zhang Jun | ||
| Taipei Representative Office in the Netherlands | James Lee | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New Zealand | Charng Yii-Lih | ||
| Taipei Trade Office in the Federal Republic of Nigeria | Morgan Chao | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Muscat, Oman | Liao Kang-min | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Papua New Guinea | Hu Chun-pu | ||
| Oficina Económica y Cultural de Taipei, Lima, República del Perú | Ivan Lee | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines | Lin Song-huann | ||
| Biuro Przedstawicielskie Tajpej w Polsce | Chen Ming-cheng | ||
| Centro Económico e Cultural de Taipei | Her Jian-gueng | ||
| Representative Office in Moscow for the Taipei-Moscow Economic and Cultural Coordination Commission | Chen Chun-shen | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | Lin Jinn-jong | ||
| Taipei Representative Office in Singapore | Francis Liang | ||
| Taipei Representative Office, Bratislava | Andrew Chang | ||
| Taipei Liaison Office in the Republic of South Africa | Matthew Chou | ||
| Taipei Mission in Korea | Daniel Diann-wen Tang | ||
| Oficina Económica y Cultural de Taipei | José María Liu | ||
| Taipei Mission in Sweden | Daniel Liao | ||
| Taipei Cultural and Economic Delegation in Switzerland | Liu Bang-zyh | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand | Tung Chen-yuan | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Mission in Ankara | James Chen | ||
| The Commercial Office of Taipei | Chang Wang-lu | ||
| Taipei Representative Office in the U.K. | David Lin | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States | Stanley Kao | ||
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vietnam | Richard R. C. Shih |
Former representative offices
- - Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Bangladesh
- - Taipei Economic Office in La Paz
- - Taiwan Commercial Office in Tripoli
- - Taipei Representative Office in Norway
- - Taipei Economic Office in Montevideo
- - Taipei Economic Office in Caracas