Taipei Representative Office in the United Kingdom

Taipei Representative Office in the United Kingdom
Taiwan 駐英國台北代表處
Map
Agency overview
Jurisdiction United Kingdom
 Seychelles
 Sierra Leone
Headquarters46-48 Grosvenor Gardens, London, SW1W 0EB, Victoria, London
Agency executive
Parent agencyMinistry of Foreign Affairs
WebsiteTaipei Representative Office in the U.K.

The Taipei Representative Office in the United Kingdom (TRO; Chinese: 駐英國台北代表處; pinyin: Zhù Yīngguó Táiběi Dàibiǎo Chù) is a liaison office of Taiwan in the United Kingdom. It is not a fully-fledged diplomatic mission owing to the ongoing Taiwan dispute and the United Kingdom's One-China policy. However, it is the highest-level representation of the Taiwan authority in the United Kingdom. It manages cultural, economic and political cooperation between the UK and Taiwan, as well as offering consular services.[1] Its counterpart body in Taiwan is the British Office Taipei.[2]

History

The Qing dynasty established an embassy to the United Kingdom, which was inherited by Republic of China. After the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949, for a short time the UK continued to recognise the government of Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China, before switching recognition to the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1950,[1] while maintaining the British consulate in Tamsui, through which the United Kingdom continued to carry out consular and trade-related activities. Taiwan's office in London was first established in September 1963 as the Free Chinese Centre (自由中國中心).[3][4] The British consulate was closed after the UK and the PRC upgraded relations to ambassadorial level in March 1972, and in June 1980 the building and land of the consulate in Tamsui were returned to the Taiwanese government. In 1992, the Free Chinese Centre was revised to become the Taipei Representative Office in the United Kingdom.[5]

Organizational structure

  • Consular Division
  • Culture Division
  • Economic Division
  • Education Division
  • Financial Division
  • Overseas Compatriots Division
  • Press Division
  • Science and Technology Division

Representatives

Transportation

The nearest station to the representative office is London Victoria station.

Branch offices

Consular districts

Representative Office Consular district[9]
Taipei Representative Office in the United Kingdom England (excluding County Durham and Cumbria), Northern Ireland, Wales, Guernsey, Jersey
Also serving Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Falkland Islands, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands
Taipei Representative Office in the United Kingdom, Edinburgh Office [zh] Northern England (County Durham and Cumbria), Scotland, Isle of Man

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Taiwan-UK relations". 30 August 2013. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013.
  2. ^ "British Office Taipei - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk.
  3. ^ The Cold War's Odd Couple: The Unintended Partnership Between the Republic of China and the UK, 1950–1958, Steven Tsang, I.B.Tauris, 2006, page 39
  4. ^ The Cold War's Odd Couple: The Unintended Partnership Between the Republic of China and the UK, 1950–1958 Archived 2016-02-24 at the Wayback Machine, Steven Tsang, I.B.Tauris, 2006, page 39
  5. ^ Former diplomats to Great Britain remember Thatcher Archived 2016-02-03 at the Wayback Machine, China Post, 10 April 2013
  6. ^ Team, Internet. "About the Representative". Taipei Representative Office in the U.K. 駐英國台北代表處.
  7. ^ Team, Internet. "代表簡介". 駐英國台北代表處 Taipei Representative Office in the U.K.
  8. ^ "Edinburgh Office, Taipei Representative Office in the United Kingdom". Archived from the original on 12 October 2014.
  9. ^ Team, Internet. "Consular Jurisdiction". Taipei Representative Office in the U.K. 駐英國台北代表處.

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