TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) thanked the U.S. Congress for its long-term efforts to deepen bilateral relations through legislation after the House of Representatives passed a bill calling for a name change of Taiwan’s U.S. representative office.
The House passed the America COMPETES Act of 2022 on Friday (Feb. 4), which in addition to bolstering U.S. competitiveness against China, also stresses the need to further strengthen the Taiwan-US partnership.
The bill calls on the Biden administration to assist Taiwan to develop its asymmetric defense capabilities, help increase its meaningful participation in international organizations such as the World Health Assembly (WHA), and shore up bilateral cooperation in technology and trade.
It also requests the name of Taiwan’s U.S. representative office, the “Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office,” be changed to the “Taiwan Representative Office in the United States.”
MOFA noted that the draft legislation incorporates elements from a number of pro-Taiwan bills previously proposed by different lawmakers, including the Taiwan Fellowship Act, Taiwan Diplomatic Review Act, Taiwan Peace and Stability Act, TAIPEI Act, and the Taiwan International Solidarity Act.
The ministry expressed gratitude to the U.S. Congress for its long-term support for Taiwan and said it will continue to pay attention to the progress of the bill and maintain close contact with American government contacts to deepen the close bilateral partnership.
