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Cambodia continues to deny Taiwan's request to establish representative office

Responding to complaints from Taiwanese businesspeople, Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Cambodia still insists on ‘one China policy'

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Cambodia has denied Taiwan's request to set up representative office. (Pixabay photo)

Cambodia has denied Taiwan's request to set up representative office. (Pixabay photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Monday (Nov. 18) that Cambodia has yet to approve the Taiwanese government's request to establish a representative office in the country after Taiwanese business owners complained about the inconvenience of document processing.

According to CNA, Lee Chia-fen (李佳芬), the wife of Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), visited Cambodia on Monday and listened to business owners' complaints about not having a Taiwanese representative office in the Southeast Asian country, making document verification extremely difficult and time-consuming. The business owners bashed the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and said that all document filing has to be done through Taiwan's representative office in Vietnam.

In response to the criticism, MOFA Spokesperson Joanne Ou (歐江安) said that installing a representative office requires approval from both countries but that the Cambodian government still insists on the "one China policy" and has refused Taiwan's request. Ou pointed out that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Ho Chi Minh City has been assigned with handling any paperwork for Taiwanese nationals in Cambodia, including document verification and the re-issuing of Taiwanese passports.

Ou added that Taiwanese citizens can apply for visas to Cambodia at any of Taiwan's representative offices and that there are online application platforms that provide quick and easy-to-access services. She said Cambodia is one of the target countries in Taiwan's New Southbound Policy, and she promised that the government will continue to negotiate with Cambodian leaders about setting up a representative office, reported Storm Media.