Trump threatens Taiwan’s representative office, sparking debate over island’s US policy
Taiwan’s representative office is among a list of entities US President Donald Trump has threatened to sue as part of his crusade against a progressive American think tank, triggering debate about the island’s US policy ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington later this month. Trump named the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (Tecro) in a social media post on…
President Donald Trump has threatened to target Taiwan’s Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (Tecro) and other foreign embassies in the United States for supporting a progressive American think tank. The controversy erupted after Trump attacked the Center for American Progress (CAP), a left-leaning think tank, on social media, accusing it of being a "radical left scam" and threatening legal action for $5 billion in damages. Tecro was among several embassies named by Trump as foreign supporters of CAP.
The remarks have sparked debate over Taiwan's relationship with US think tanks, particularly ahead of an upcoming summit between Taiwan and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Some, like Chen I-hsin, head of the culture and communications committee of the Kuomintang, have described Trump's comments as an "unusual diplomatic warning" and questioned Taiwan's funding of CAP.
The Taiwanese foreign ministry defended its practice, stating that it works with US think tanks across the political spectrum to support Indo-Pacific security, supply-chain resilience, and critical technologies.
Taiwan has provided about $6.77 million to 25 US think tanks between 2019 and 2024. Scholars suggest that while Taiwan should still maintain relationships with US think tanks, it should ensure its outreach is more politically balanced to avoid complications in the lead-up to the Trump-Xi summit.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
