Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco to open in February

Taipei [Taiwan], February 9 (ANI): The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in San Francisco will officially open its doors at the end of February, following its move to a new building in October, Taiwan News reported citing CNA.

Scott Lai, Director-General of TECO San Francisco, stated that the office will continue to facilitate exchanges between Taiwan and the United States, serving as a key resource for foreign visitors, domestic delegations, and the Taiwanese community abroad.

The opening ceremony, scheduled for later this month, will serve as an important milestone in strengthening Taiwan-US and Taiwan-California relations, he said.

Further, Lai also addressed public safety concerns regarding the new premises, saying the office has coordinated with the US Diplomatic Security Service and the San Francisco Police Department to increase patrols, as per Taiwan News.

Internally, TECO will implement 24-hour security guard services, enhance access control, and conduct security screenings to ensure the safety of staff and visitors. Currently, all visitors must pass through a security checkpoint before entering the building, he said.

The new TECO office is located at 345 4th Street, close to the Moscone Center. In addition to this office, Taiwan also operates a five-story consular building in Los Angeles, which opened in 2023.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) reported that 14 Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft and 6 People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels were detected around Taiwan as of 6 am local time (UTC 8) today.

Nine of these aircraft crossed the median line and entered the island nation's northern and southwestern Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

"14 PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC 8) today. 9 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern and southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly," said the MND reported.

Earlier on Saturday, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) reported that 11 Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels were detected near the island until 6 am (UTC 8). Of these, nine aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the northern and south-western parts of Taiwan's Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).

The ministry also detected one Chinese balloon during this period.

In recent weeks, China had visibly increased its capacity to conduct amphibious assaults on Taiwan's beaches with new naval equipment. This included the formal launch of an advanced landing helicopter assault (LHA) vessel, unique in the world, and the mass production of floating bridge docks to aid ship unloading during beach landings. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)