Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office
| Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office | |||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 臺北經濟文化辦事處 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 台北经济文化办事处 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Táiběi Jīngjì Wénhùa Bànshìchù |
| Wade–Giles | T'aipei Chingchi Wenhua Panshihch'u |
| Tongyong Pinyin | Táiběi Jǐngjì Wúnhùa Bànshìhchù |
| Yale Romanization | Táiběi Jǐngjì Wénhwà Bànshr̀chù |
| Southern Min | |
| Hokkien POJ | Tâi-pak Keng-chè Bûn-hòa Pān-sū-chhù |
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), also known as Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) or Taipei Representative Office (TRO), is a representative office alternative to an embassy or a consulate which handles foreign affairs and citizen services of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in countries that have diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC, commonly "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.
These establishments use the term "Taipei" instead of "Taiwan" or "ROC" 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.
However, in Papua New Guinea and Fiji, the local missions are known as the "Trade Mission of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Papua New Guinea" and "Trade Mission of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Republic of Fiji" respectively, despite both countries having diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. The Taipei Representative Office in Singapore was similarly known as the "Trade Mission of the Republic of China" until 1990.
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 a normal embassy or consulate general, like issuing visas and passports. In this respect, they function as de facto embassies.
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