Taiwan has lost out to China in the merger of two Washington-based lobbying companies.
While the details are being kept secret, the giant Patton Boggs has in effect taken over the boutique Breaux Lott Leadership Group.
Both companies make a living by “lobbying” or persuading members of the US Congress and other politicians to adopt policies promoted by their clients.
In this merger, the dominant Patton Boggs has China as a client, while the much smaller Breaux Lott has Taiwan.
As a result, Taiwan is being dropped by the newly merged firm.
In a contract negotiated in May of last year with Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office Representative Jason Yuan (袁健生), Breaux Lott has been receiving US$35,000 a month to represent Taiwan.
It is not known how much China has been paying Patton Boggs, but it is presumably much more.
Breaux Lott was run by former Democratic senator John Breaux of Louisiana and former Republican senator Trent Lott of Mississippi. They will both now work for the new company, but it is not known if they will be part of the China account.
If so, they will have to make a dramatic U-turn on some issues, such as arms sales.
According to published reports, Breaux and Lott had a contract with Taiwan that required them to “advance and promote” Taiwan “at all levels of the departments and agencies of the US Government.”
They were also obliged to help Taiwanese officials with “introductions to and negotiations with senior officials” of the US government.
Lott was supposed to work “diligently to exhort members of Congress and the United States Senate to act favorably on matters of interest and benefit to Taiwan.”
In addition, he was to provide recommendations and advice on how best to improve relations between Taiwan and the US.
The decision by the new lobbying company to drop Taiwan has caused quite a stir in Washington political circles involved in Asian issues.
Coen Blaauw, executive director of the Formosan Association for Public Relations, said: “If relations between Taiwan and China are so good, why can't the new firm work for both countries?”
“But no, they can't,” Blaauw said.
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session yesterday while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival- threatening
RSS