The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is considering sending a high-level official to the US in response to a request from Washington and in line with the administration of President William Lai’s (賴清德) goal of deepening exchanges between the two nations, a source said earlier this week.
The council has two officials stationed abroad: one at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US, and the other at the Brussels-based Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium, the source said.
The council is looking to increase the capacity of the US office to share research and information on China with the US, which is in line with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ “integrated diplomacy” policy, the source said, adding that the council is considering sending one additional official to the US.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
The US government, Congress and think tanks have repeatedly expressed their interest in obtaining information on China or China-related issues, and the council is willing to cooperate on this front, the source said.
With the US pro-actively pursuing this issue, there will be more opportunities for Taiwan-US collaboration, the source said.
A person familiar with cross-strait affairs said the council had high-level officials stationed at Taiwan’s offices in Hong Kong and Macau, but withdrew them after Beijing demanded that Taiwanese officials sign a statement expressing their support for Beijing’s “one China” principle.
Council officials stationed in the US are typically entry-level civil servants, the source said, adding that the opportunity for the council to dispatch senior officials to the US would facilitate collaboration between the two nations.
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