For Immediate Release
Washington DC – December 17, 2020
Contact: (202) 547-3686
78 U.S. REPRESENTATIVES CALL UPON SECRETARY POMPEO TO CHANGE TECRO NAME TO “TAIWAN REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE”
In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo dated December 17, 78 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Taiwan Caucus co-chairs Steve Chabot (R-OH) and Mario Diaz Balart (R-FL), call upon the secretary to change the name of the unofficial Taiwan “embassy” in Washington DC from “Taipei Economic Cultural Representative Office” (TECRO) to “Taiwan Representative Office” (TRO).
They write: “The use of the word ‘Taipei’ fails to accurately reflect the strong ties the United States has … with the people of Taiwan.”
In the letter the Members also call for a “bilateral free trade deal” between the U.S. and Taiwan and express the hope that the State Department will issue revised State Department guidelines for relations with Taiwan.
They conclude: “We hope that as you [i.e., Pompeo] continue to make enduring changes toward the Indo-Pacific you take the actions outlined above. It is our belief that doing so will greatly enhance our enduring relationship with the people of Taiwan and demonstrate the United States’ commitment to the region.”
FAPA President Minze Chien adds: “The TECRO name change is fully consistent with U.S. policy. Historically, the U.S. refers to Taiwan with the country’s geographic connotation of ‘Taiwan’ because the U.S. and Taiwan do not maintain diplomatic relations. The U.S. therefore has a ‘TAIWAN Relations Act’ and an ‘American Institute in TAIWAN.’ Moreover, the name change to ‘TRO’ would set a fine precedent for a name change of Taiwan’s de facto embassies around the world to emulate.”
FAPA initiated a petition campaign for this letter. After five days, 1,409 FAPA members contacted a total of 227 representatives asking them to co-sign the letter.
七十八位美國聯邦眾議員聯名呼籲國務卿蓬佩奧將「駐美國台北經濟文化代表處」更名為「台灣代表處」
在一封12月17日致予美國國務卿蓬佩奧的聯名信中，台灣連線主席夏波與迪亞士・巴拉特率領其他七十六位聯邦眾議員，呼籲將台灣在華府的非官方大使館由「駐美國台北經濟文化代表處」（TECRO）更名為「台灣代表處」（TRO）。
他們寫道：「現在所使用的『台北』一詞並無法確實地反映美國⋯⋯與台灣人民之間的緊密聯繫。」
在同一封信中，眾議員們亦要求簽訂美台「雙邊自由貿易協定」，並期望國務院在未來能頒布新修訂的國務院對台交往準則。
他們做出結論：「當您（亦即，蓬佩奧）持續對印太地區進行長久性變革之時，我們希望您可以採取上述的行動。我們相信，這樣做將大幅增進我們與台灣人民間的長期關係，並顯示美國對該地區的承諾。」
FAPA總會長簡明子補充說：「 TECRO的改名與美國的政策完全一致。從歷史上來看，因為美台間缺乏外交關係，美國以該國在地理意涵上的『台灣』一詞來稱呼台灣。因此，美國擁有《台灣關係法》與「美國在台協會」。此外，更名為『 TRO』（台灣代表處）將為台灣未來在世界各地的事實上使館的改名，立下良好典範。」
FAPA針對這封聯名信發起了一次快閃請願活動。在短短五天之內，1,409位FAPA會員聯絡並要求共227位所屬選區聯邦眾議員連署此信。
Full Text of the Letter
Go to the next page from the control bar at the bottom of the PDF file.