Texas will open a state office in Taiwan to enhance trade and cultural relations, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Sunday during an economic development trip to Asia.
“Texas and Taiwan are critical economic partners that seek to drive the future of innovation,” Abbott said in a news release from Taipei, the capital of the self-governing island off the coast of China. “Both initiatives — an economic agreement and a new State of Texas Taiwan Office — will strengthen the economic and cultural relationship between Texas and Taiwan.”
The new office in Taiwan will fall under the governor’s economic development and tourism umbrella.
The trip to Asia also included visits to South Korea and Japan. The governor was joined by his wife, Cecilia; Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson; Democratic state Sen. Carol Alvarado of Houston; and Republican state Reps. Angie Chen Button of Richardson, Giovanni Capriglione of Keller and Jacey Jetton of Katy. Button was born in Taipei.
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The United States severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan, once known as the Republic of China, in 1979 as part of the agreement that normalized the nation’s relationship with the People’s Republic of China, which had been isolated after the Communist takeover in 1949.
However, according to the U.S. State Department, which describes Taiwan as “a leading democracy and a technological powerhouse,” the U.S. and Taiwan “have a robust unofficial relationship.”
“The United States and Taiwan share similar values, deep commercial and economic links, and strong people-to-people ties, which form the bedrock of our friendship and serve as the impetus for expanding U.S. engagement with Taiwan,” the State Department says on its website.
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Abbott signed what his office called an Economic Development Statement of Intent with Taiwan Economic Affairs Minister Jyh-Huei Kuo “to further boost investment, expand trade, spur job creation, and increase innovation in critical industries between Texas and Taiwan.”
The document’s priorities include collaboration in such sectors as semiconductor manufacturing, electric vehicles and energy resilience.
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