| Agency Name: | Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston 駐休士頓臺北經濟文化辦事處 |
| Formed: | 1937 (as ROC Consulate) 1992 (current form) |
| Headquarters: | Houston |
| Jurisdiction: | United States (Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma) |
| Chief1 Position: | Director General[1] |
| Website: | Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston |
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston (TECO-Houston,) 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]
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.
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]
