Taiwan has lost out to China in the merger of two Washington-based lobbying companies.
While the details are being kept secret, the giant Patton Boggs has in effect taken over the boutique Breaux Lott Leadership Group.
Both companies make a living by “lobbying” or persuading members of the US Congress and other politicians to adopt policies promoted by their clients.
In this merger, the dominant Patton Boggs has China as a client, while the much smaller Breaux Lott has Taiwan.
As a result, Taiwan is being dropped by the newly merged firm.
In a contract negotiated in May of last year with Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office Representative Jason Yuan (袁健生), Breaux Lott has been receiving US$35,000 a month to represent Taiwan.
It is not known how much China has been paying Patton Boggs, but it is presumably much more.
Breaux Lott was run by former Democratic senator John Breaux of Louisiana and former Republican senator Trent Lott of Mississippi. They will both now work for the new company, but it is not known if they will be part of the China account.
If so, they will have to make a dramatic U-turn on some issues, such as arms sales.
According to published reports, Breaux and Lott had a contract with Taiwan that required them to “advance and promote” Taiwan “at all levels of the departments and agencies of the US Government.”
They were also obliged to help Taiwanese officials with “introductions to and negotiations with senior officials” of the US government.
Lott was supposed to work “diligently to exhort members of Congress and the United States Senate to act favorably on matters of interest and benefit to Taiwan.”
In addition, he was to provide recommendations and advice on how best to improve relations between Taiwan and the US.
The decision by the new lobbying company to drop Taiwan has caused quite a stir in Washington political circles involved in Asian issues.
Coen Blaauw, executive director of the Formosan Association for Public Relations, said: “If relations between Taiwan and China are so good, why can't the new firm work for both countries?”
“But no, they can't,” Blaauw said.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
RSS