Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong (TECO; Chinese: 臺北經濟文化辦事處) is the representative office of the Republic of China in Hong Kong.[1] Its counterpart body in Taiwan is the Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office in Taiwan.

Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong
臺北經濟文化辦事處
Lippo centre, Hong Kong as viewed from Hong Kong Park
Location Hong Kong
Address40/F, Tower One, Lippo Centre, 89 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Coordinates22°16′46″N 114°09′48″E
AmbassadorVacant
WebsiteOfficial website (in Chinese)
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong
Traditional Chinese臺北經濟文化辦事處
Simplified Chinese台北经济文化办事处
Chung Hwa Travel Service
Chinese中華旅行社

The General Manager of TECO is also the Director of the Bureau of Hong Kong Affairs in the Mainland Affairs Council of the Executive Yuan. The founding director of the office was Susie Chiang Su-hui.[2]

The office is located at Lippo Centre building Tower 1 in Admiralty.[3]

History
Chung Hwa Travel Service counters, Hong Kong Airport Terminal 1

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong, initially known as Chung Hwa Travel Service (Chinese: 中華旅行社), was first established in Hong Kong in 1966 during British rule.[4] This operated under quasi-diplomatic arrangements unilaterally extended by the British authorities.[5]

Previously, while the National Government of the Republic of China in Nanjing had negotiated with the British regarding the appointment of a Consul-General in 1945, it decided against such an appointment, with its representative in the colony, T W Kwok (Kuo Teh-hua) instead being styled Special Commissioner for Hong Kong.[6] This was in addition to his role as Special Commissioner for Guangdong and Guangxi.[7]

Disagreements also arose with the British authorities, with the Governor, Alexander Grantham, opposing an office building for the "Commissioner for Foreign Affairs of the Provinces of Kwantung and Kuangsi" being erected on the site of the Walled City in Kowloon.[8]

In 1950, following British recognition of the People's Republic of China, the office of the Special Commissioner was closed and Kwok withdrawn.[9]

Following the transfer of sovereignty to the People's Republic of China in 1997, the Service continued to operate, despite not having been officially registered with the Hong Kong SAR Government.[5] However, in 2000, Beijing set out the conditions under which the Chung Hwa Travel Service could operate in Hong Kong, although the Mainland Affairs Council refused to detail them.[10]

In 2004, the newly-appointed managing director of the Service faced a five-month delay before received approval to enter Hong Kong and assume his post.[11] Similarly, other Taiwan government officials faced difficulties in obtaining visas to visit Hong Kong.[12]

In 2009, the Service opened a visa office at Hong Kong International Airport, thereby allowing mainland visitors to Taiwan to collect their visas at the airport instead of having to travel to the office in Admiralty.[13]

On 20 July 2011, in a ceremony presided over by Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan, it was renamed the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office.[14] This brought it into line with most other representative offices around the world, which already had "Taipei" in their titles.[15] The renaming was considered a milestone in the improved cross-strait relations between Taipei and Beijing.[14]

Transportation

The office is accessible within walking distance West from Admiralty Station of the Hong Kong MTR.

See also

References
  1. Is name change a game changer?, Taipei Times, July 17, 2011
  2. Different era and mood for 'little dragons' talks, South China Morning Post, 20 April 2010
  3. "Bureau of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Hong Kong". Boca.gov.tw. 14 July 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  4. "Kuomintang News Network". Kmt.org.tw. 5 July 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  5. The First Decade: The Hong Kong SAR in Retrospective and Introspective Perspectives, Yue-man Yeung, Chinese University Press, 2007, page 87
  6. Democracy shelved: Great Britain, China, and attempts at constitutional reform in Hong Kong, 1945–1952, Steve Yui-Sang Tsang, Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 1988, page 28
  7. Hegemonies Compared: State Formation and Chinese School Politics in Postwar Singapore and Hong Kong, Ting-Hong Wong, Psychology Press, 2002, page 96
  8. Britain and China 1945–1950: Documents on British Policy Overseas, Series I, Volume 8, S.R. Ashton, G. Bennett, K. Hamilton, Routledge, 2013 page 129
  9. Via Ports: From Hong Kong to Hong Kong, Alexander Grantham, Hong Kong University Press, 2012, page 106
  10. Beijing 'sets envoy terms', South China Morning Post, 8 March, 2000
  11. Taiwan's office head gets visa after five-month wait, South China Morning Post, 8 October 2004
  12. Visas hard for Taiwanese officials to get, says envoy, South China Morning Post, 13 February 2008
  13. Chung Hwa Travel opens visa office at HK airport, Travel Weekly Asia, August 11, 2009
  14. "Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan poses at a renaming ceremony in Hong Kong Photo 07/20/2011". Townhall.com. 20 July 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  15. Foreign Policy of the New Taiwan: Pragmatic Diplomacy in Southeast Asia, Jie Chen, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2002, page 82
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