Taiwan Opens Phoenix Office After Beijing Objects to Plan

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung opened the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Phoenix on Oct. 5, 2026, Taiwan's 14th U.S. representative office. They unveiled the plaque as Hobbs welcomed deeper ties. Lin had arrived late Saturday for a three-day visit that included no Washington stops or State Department meetings, less than two weeks after a Trump-Xi summit in Washington. Ingrid Larson of the American Institute in Taiwan accompanied him. An Arizona Commerce Authority memorandum with Taiwan's National Association of Innovation and Entrepreneurship was on the program. China's Los Angeles consulate had sent letters dated July 3 and Aug. 21 asking Hobbs to object; KJZZ first reported them. The July 3 letter urged her to "refute such an attempt by the Taiwan authorities and stop any political gimmicks to harm the friendship and cooperation between China and the State of Arizona." Embassy spokesperson Liu Chang said Monday China "firmly opposes official interactions of any form between China's Taiwan region and the U.S., including its federal and state governments." Hobbs said every Arizona elected official "should show the courage necessary to support the partnership between Arizona and Taiwan" and that the state is mobilizing resources for Taiwanese companies expanding there. TSMC pledged another $100 billion, bringing total Phoenix investment to $265 billion, described as the largest foreign direct investment in U.S. history. Jason Hsu cited about 500 Taiwanese engineers at TSMC Arizona; TSMC put Phoenix staff at about 3,000, expected to reach about 6,000 after later plants. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego described a Taiwanese community "baby boom" with Mandarin-language maternity programs.