Taiwan representative attends Presidential Inauguration with official invitation for the first time since 1979

Taiwan’s representative to the United States Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) attended the inauguration ceremony for President Joe Biden today, and it is the first time Taiwan’s representative to the United States was officially invited by the organizing committee since diplomatic ties were broken off in 1979.

Since 1979, Taiwan representatives have attended Presidential Inauguration ceremonies with admission tickets provided by individual congress members, to be issued at their own discretion, local media outlets in Taiwan reported.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECO) in the United States issued a press release on the evening (Taipei Time) of January 20 announcing that Hsiao Bi-khim accepted the invitation of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) to represent the government at the inauguration ceremony for US President Joe Biden, and Vice-President Kamala Harris at the Whitehouse.

“I look forward to working with the next US administration in advancing our common values and interests,” Hsiao Bi-khim wrote on Twitter. “…in a democracy, differences must be respected. But policy is always stronger and more sustainable when there is bipartisan support. That is why Taiwan always works with American friends in a bipartisan spirit.”

Taiwan’s Central News Agency English language media outlet Focus Taiwan noted in a January 19 report that: “Many observers see the attendance of a Taiwanese delegation at the inauguration as an important gauge of Taiwan-US relations.”

Taiwan English News is an independent publication with no corporate funding. If you found this article informative, and would like to support my work, please buy me a coffee or support me on Patreon. Subscribe to Taiwan English News for free to receive the latest news via email. Advertising queries are welcome. Share, like, comment below.