THE HONORABLE

YVONNE YI-FANG HSIAO

DIRECTOR GENERAL TAIPEI ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL OFFICE

When and how did you receive your appointment as the Director-General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston?

This was my second summer in Houston, so, around a year ago I was appointed by our Foreign Minister. We have over 100 overseas missions around the world. I am the first female Director-General of TECO in Houston. Thirty years ago, they had a quota, a limit on female foreign service officers, because, at that time, women were not viewed as suitable for foreign service positions. About 25 years ago, the bar was lifted because it was deemed unconstitutional. Everyone should have equal rights to work – gender equality is better than gender discrimination. Thankfully, more and more ladies are entering the foreign service. It’s high time for us female diplomats to become head of the office. Taiwan has made incredible strides, great progress in gender equality. Taiwan is also the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage. Taiwan is viewed as one of the freest countries. We’re top in Asia for Freedom of the Press; and, this year, Taiwan retained its ranking of first in Asia and 10th globally according to the Democracy Index published by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

What are Taiwan’s main diplomatic objectives, and in what ways do the Taipei Economic and Cultural Offices around the country, including the Representative Office in Washington, DC, address them?

In general, Taiwan’s diplomacy is about drawing our allies in for mutually beneficial exchanges. This January, we had a presidential election, and a new cabinet took office in May. Our Foreign Minister, Dr. Chia-Lung Lin, advocates for what we call Integrated Diplomacy, which has three main aspects. They are value-based diplomacy rooted in democracy – Taiwan is a free and democratic country, so we work with other free, democratic countries. Because we share common values, we can work very well with the USA, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Australia, for example. The second aspect is alliances diplomacy centered on peace. We have allies with shared common values, and we work with them to encourage global peace. The third aspect goes to our strength, economics. In other words, we advocate for dynamic, pragmatic economic and trade diplomacy aimed at achieving global prosperity. There are several ways and levels through which we employ Integrated Diplomacy. My role here is to work with the state governments of the five states covered by TECO in Houston and work within the local communities. On the political side we want the local and state representatives to know more about Taiwan, so they can voice support for us. On the cultural side, we promote exchanges in the fields of business, education, culture, science, and technology.

How would you characterize the current state of U.S.-Taiwan relations?

The past few years, our bilateral relations have been rock-solid. I think it is the best it has been in history. The US government announced its support of Taiwan, and as you know China has never given up on putting economic or diplomatic pressure on Taiwan or even threatening us. We are grateful and really appreciative that the US Congress and President have voiced their support. The US government has emphasized repeatedly that peace and prosperity in the Taiwan Strait is vital. A healthy relationship depends, not only on the bilateral platform, but also on the multilateral. For example, in 2015 the US and Taiwan jointly established the Global Cooperation and Training Framework. It is a platform to utilize Taiwan’s strengths and expertise to address global issues of mutual concern. It assists countries in the Indo-Pacific with their capacity building efforts through training programs for officials and experts while also enhancing Taiwan’s multilateral cooperation throughout the region. We have international workshops on public health, law enforcement, and many other topics. It is mostly bilateral, and it is so successful! Now we have Japan, Australia, and Canada as full partners. Over the past nine years, we have had more than 9,800 participants and 132 countries participate in the program. Dynamic bilateral relations with the US help encourage other countries to have more multilateral relations with Taiwan. We can see this in the broad international support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in world organizations, such as: the World Health Organization – health for everyone. ICAO – aviation safety. Interpol – international policing. The UN – a better world for all. Strong support for Taiwan from the US helps spread the word that we are a good partner for international cooperation.

How do cultural and educational exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwan foster mutual understanding and stronger ties? What are some exciting local examples?

In December, we will have a jazz band perform at the New Orleans Jazz Museum’s annual Improvisations Gala and the Asia Society here in Houston. Bassist and composer Vincent Hsu leads the Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band in a captivating fusion of jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms, bringing together celebrated musicians from Taiwan and the United States — including NEA jazz master Donald Harrison — to create a unique sonic landscape inspired by Hsu’s Taiwanese roots. In 2025, there will be a fabulous jewelry show with pieces by Taiwanese designer Aka Chen at the Houston Museum of Natural Science that is sure to delight. During the past year, we also had Taiwanese chefs showcase our cuisine and puppet troupes perform traditional puppet shows. We often host traditional Taiwanese music performances. Each event introduces new people to Taiwan and brings those already supporting us even closer.

In 2021, the US and Taiwan signed an international education initiative, and we are working on many exchanges – for example, Mandarin language learning. China established Confucius Institutes teaching Simplified Chinese, but they were suspected of having a hidden agenda. So, the US government discouraged cooperation with Confucius Institutes. There is still a rising demand for Mandarin learning in the US, so Taiwan stepped in. We provide programs, open Mandarin learning centers, or send Mandarin teachers. For example, we have partnerships with universities like UT Austin, UT Dallas, and here in Houston with Rice University and the University of Saint Thomas. The partnership allows them to teach and learn Mandarin, or even send students to Taiwan. It’s important to note that the characters used in China are different from those used in Taiwan. Taiwan uses traditional characters when writing, so, if you learn it, you could read all the Chinese books written during the past thousands of years. The characters used in China are a simplified version – invented during their great cultural revolution. It diluted the very core, the spirit of the words. For example, the character for Love in traditional characters has a heart in it. China’s version has no heart. How can you love someone when there is no heart? That is just one example.

In what ways does your office assist Taiwanese living in Houston?

Our office is available for Taiwanese citizens needing assistance with travel or business documents. TECO in Houston covers five states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. Texas being the largest of the five states, of course! There are an estimated 180,000 Taiwanese Americans living across these five states, with approximately 85% of them living in Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth. As you know, Taiwanese are good at doing business. Most Taiwanese Americans have come for doing business or pursuing higher education and often stay here to work in the energy sector or oil and gas, and others have found success in real estate and other sectors. We also have strong Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce in Houston and Dallas, and TECO in Houston collaborates with them often on events.

In her role as the Director-General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural office here in Houston, this energetic young woman, Hon. Yvonne Hsiao, has been responsible for:…

Promoting Taiwan

Hsiao has represented Taiwan at events such as the 2024 MOFA-TAP US-China-Taiwan Conference, where she served as a sponsor representative. She has also hosted events to facilitate dialogue between Taiwanese and American academicians and legislators.

Supporting Taiwan Studies

Hsiao attended the University of Texas at Dallas’ first Taiwan Research Academy event, which offers a training program for students to learn more about Taiwan.

Celebrating Taiwan programs

Hsiao has celebrated the expansion of the Taiwan Centers for Mandarin Learning (TCML) program with local elected officials.

We sincerely hope that Ms. Hsiao will be here for a long time to come.

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