Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston

Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston
駐休士頓臺北經濟文化辦事處
Agency overview
Formed	1937 (as ROC Consulate); 1992 (current form)
Jurisdiction	United States (Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma)
Headquarters	Houston
Agency executive	Yvonne Yi-Fang Hsiao [zh], Director General;
Website	Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston
Footnotes
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	駐休士頓臺北經濟文化辦事處
Simplified Chinese	驻休士顿台北经济文化办事处
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Zhù Xiūshìdùn Táiběi Jǐngjì Wénhùa Bànshìchù

Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston (TECO-Houston, Chinese: 駐休士頓台北經濟文化辦事處) represents the interests of Taiwan in the southern United States, functioning as a de facto consulate.^[2] The mission is located on the 20th Floor of 11 Greenway Plaza. It also oversees a Cultural Center at 10303 West Office Drive in the Westchase district of Houston.^[3]^[4]

Background

TECO Houston's origins can be traced to 1937 when the National Government of the Republic of China established a consulate in Houston.^[5] The ROC was represented by a vice-consul.^[6] After opening the consulate of the People's Republic of China in 1979, the TECO mission opened its doors in 1992.

Greenway Plaza, the complex which contains the office

The mission serves Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.^[7]

The office sponsors cultural exhibits such as the 2009 "Nation of Splendor: Taiwan, the Republic of China," which was hosted at 2 Allen Center in Downtown Houston.^[8] The mission also sponsors the Hou, Hsiao-Hsien Film Festival in San Antonio along with the Trinity University East Program.^[9]

After members of a Taiwanese religious movement in Garland, Texas, did not find God on television on a day in March 1998, an officer of TECO Houston offered assistance to members of the movement to assist travel back to Taiwan.^[10] On September 23, 2002, an e-mail relayed through TECO Houston warned the ROC government that there was a possibility of a terrorist attack.^[11] In 2005 Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana Mitch Landrieu and Kip Holden, Mayor-President of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, met with a delegation of TECO Houston officials to negotiate Taiwanese business interests in Louisiana.^[12]