A bipartisan bill was put forward in the US Senate on Wednesday with the aim of renaming Taiwan’s representative office in Washington to reflect “the reality” that it represents the people of Taiwan, the sponsors said.
The proposed Taiwan representative office act seeks to change the name of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) to the Taiwan Representative Office (TRO).
The bill “underscores the United States’ commitment to Taiwan’s democracy and enhances clarity in the US-Taiwan relationship,” said a statement issued by Republican Senator John Curtis, who was the sponsor along with Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley.
Photo: AFP
In 2023 and last year, similar bills were introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate, but did not gain enough traction to advance in either chamber.
Curtis, who was then a member of the House, put forth one of the bills, while then-senator Marco Rubio sponsored the other, during the last two years of former US president Joe Biden’s term.
Taiwan’s representative offices in countries with which it does not have diplomatic ties are typically named the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office or the Taipei Representative Office, in keeping with the host countries’ preference to avoid any references that would imply Taiwan is a separate country from China.
Curtis was quoted in the statement as saying that the US should not tolerate pressure from China “to undermine the Taiwanese people.”
Instead, the US should “stand by its democratic allies and friends around the world facing pressure and coercion from authoritarian regimes,” he said.
“By renaming TECRO as the Taiwan Representative Office, our bill acknowledges the reality that this office represents the people of Taiwan, not just the economic interests of the city of Taipei,” he added.
Merkley said that the bipartisan bill demonstrates the US’ longstanding commitment to supporting Taiwan by properly recognizing its status.
“We must continue to send a strong message that the United States will use all resources at our disposal to foster healthy, robust relationships with our democratic partners, including Taiwan,” Merkley was quoted as saying in the release.
The two senators also said that changing TECRO’s name would not contravene the US’ “one China” policy or alter its position on Taiwan’s international status.
The proposed legislation directs the US secretary of state to engage in negotiations with Taiwan’s representative office in Washington to facilitate a name change, the two senators said.
If the renaming effort succeeds, all US government documents, laws, maps and records referring to TECRO would be updated to TRO, the bill says.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS