TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said it uses public relations (PR) companies to promote Taiwan-U.S. relations.

The employment of PR agencies has always been in line with U.S. laws and regulations and adjusted according to the requirements of Taiwan’s work in the U.S., MOFA said in a press release issued on Sunday (Oct. 30). The budget spent on these firms has also been fully transparent and supervised by the Legislative Yuan, the ministry said.

MOFA pointed out that the main role of PR agencies is to provide “timely observations and suggestions” and help expand the reach of the ministry’s efforts from a more comprehensive perspective. With the coordination and efforts of the Washington, D.C.-based Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), people from U.S. political, business, and academic circles have long supported the deepening of Taiwan-U.S. economic and trade relations, the ministry said.

Taiwan and the U.S. have established the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, the Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration Framework, and the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, which have advanced bilateral dialogue, cooperation, and economic and trade relations, the ministry said.

MOFA stated that in recent months, certain media outlets have repeatedly used issues such as the ministry’s use of PR agencies and taken information out of context to write reports that are “completely contrary to the facts” regarding Taiwan-friendly developments in the U.S. Congress. This not only destroys TECRO’s efforts and undermines the sincere friendship and support of our friends in congress, but also misleads the Taiwanese public, MOFA added.

The ministry condemned these reports and appealed to the public not to pay attention to such “deliberately distorted” reports.