Goto Main Content
:::

Select Folders:

Article Content

1.Signed on October 2,1980; Entered into force on October 2,1980.
 
Whereas the Coordination Council for North American Affairs (CC-
NAA) has been established in Taipei as an organization outside
the governmental structure whose employees are non-active duty
personnel, whereas the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) has b-
een incorporated in the District of Columbia as a private, non-
governmental entity whose employees are private citizens, CCNAA
and AIT (hereafter referred to as "the counterpart organization-
s") have reached the following agreement:
ARTICLE 1
The CCNAA may establish an office in the metropolitan area of t-
he District of Columbia and branch offices in eight cities with-
in the United States and such other additional localities as ma-
y be agreed upon between the counterpart organizations. The Ins-
titute may establish an office in Taipei and a branch office in
Kaohsiung. The Institute may operate a Chinese language school
in Taipei, a trade center in Taipei and cultural centers in Tai-
pei and Kaohsiung, each of which offices shall be considered an
integral part of the Institute.
ARTICLE 2
(a) Each counterpart organization shall undertake to ensure that
the other counterpart organization and its personnel will r-
eceive all privileges, exemptions and immunities as set for-
th herein and to take all possible measures, as appropriate,
to secure adequate protection of the other counterpart orga-
nization's premises and personnel, so as to facilitate prop-
er execution of that organization's functions.
(b) No person shall be entitled to the benefits of this agreeme-
nt unless he or she (i) shall have been duly notified to and
accepted by the receiving counterpart organization as a des-
ignated emplyee of the sending counterpart organization, or
(ii) is a member of the family of one of the foregoing acce-
pted or designated employees.
(c) The receiving counterpart organization shall facilitate iss-
uance of identification cards to persons who are entitled to
the benefits of this agreement.
(d) The sending counterpart organization shall notify the recei-
ving counterpart organization of the termination of services
or of the departure of any person entitled to the benefits
of this agreement.
(e) Should the receiving counterpart organization determine that
the continued presence of any person entitled to the benefi-
ts of this agreement is not desirable, it shall so inform t-
he sending counterpart organization. After such person shall
have had a reasonable length of time to depart, to be deter-
mined by the receiving counterpart organization, he or she
shall cease to be entitled to such benefits.
(f) No person shall, by reason of the provisions of this agreem-
ent, be considered as receiving any privileges or immunities
other than such as are specifically set forth herein.
ARTICLE 3
Each counterpart organization shall facilitate the issuance of
appropriate visas for staff members of the other organization a-
nd their family members.
ARTICLE 4
(a) The sending counterpart organization shall be free to commu-
nicate for all purposes related to the performance of its f-
unctions and shall enjoy inviolability for all corresponden-
ce related to its functions.
(b) The bag carrying the correspondence referred to in the prec-
eding paragraph and other articles related to the performan-
ce of the counterpart organization's functions shall neither
be opened nor detained.
(c) The packages constituting such a bag must bear visible exte-
rnal marks of their character and may contain only documents
or articles intended for the performance of the organizatio-
n's designated functions.
(d) The designated carriers of such bags, who shall be provided
with a document indicating their status and the number of p-
ackages constituting such bags, who shall be protected in t-
he performance of their functions. The designated carrier s-
hall enjoy personal inviolability and shall not be liable to
any form of arrest or detention.
(e) The sending counterpart organization may designate such car-
riers ad hoc. In such cases the provisions of paragraph (d)
of this Article shall apply, except that the privileges and
immunities of an ad hoc carriers shall cease when the bag in
his charge shall have been delivered to the consignee.
(f) Bags carrying such correspondence and articles may be entru-
sted to the captain of a commercial aircraft scheduled to l-
and at an authorized port-of-entry. The captain shall be pr-
ovided with a document indicating the number of packages co-
nstituting the bag, but the captain shall not be considered
to be a designated carrier of such bags.The sending counter-
part or ganization may send one of its members to take poss-
ession of such a bag directly and freely from the captain of
the aircraft.
ARTICLE 5
(a) The wages, fees or salaries of any designated employee of a
sending counterpart organization, except nationals and perm-
anent residents of the jurisdiction in which the receiving
counterpart organization is located, to the extent such wag-
es, fees or slaries are received in connection with the per-
formance of authorized functions, shall be exempt from taxa-
tion imposed by the central or local authorities of the jur-
isdiction in which the receiving counterpart organization is
located.
(b) Wages, salaries and fees paid by the sending counterpart or-
ganization to its designated employees, except nationals and
permanent residents of the jurisdiction in which the receiv-
ing counterpart organization is located, shall not be subje-
ct to withholding for purposes of taxation by the central or
local authorities of the jurisdiction in which the receiving
counterpart organization is located. The sending counterpart
organization and its officers and employees, other than nat-
ionals of the jurisdiction in which the receiving counterpa-
rt organization is located, shall be exempt from making con-
tributions for unemployment or similar insurance, social se-
curity, or other programs adopted by the central or local a-
uthorities of the jurisdiction in which the receiving count-
erpart organization is located.
(c) The property and assets of the sending counterpart organiza-
tion, and any successor organization thereto, wherever loca-
ted and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from forced ent-
ry, search, attachment, execution, requisition, expropriati-
on or any other form of seizure or confiscation, unless such
immunity be expressly waived. The archives and documents of
the sending counterpart organization shall be inviolable at
all times and wherever they may be.
(d) Real property used for the performance of the sending count-
erpart organization's authorized functions and for which the
counterpart organization would be liable for payment of tax-
es shall be exempt from central and local taxation of the j-
urisdiction in which the receiving counterpart organization
is located. The property, income, operations, and other tra-
nsactions of the sending counterpart organization shall be
exempt from taxation by the central and local authorities of
the jurisdiction in which the receiving counterpart organiz-
ation is located. The exemptions provided in this Article,
however, shall not apply to any property which is not used
for the purposes of the sending counterpart organization or
successor organizations.
(e) Designated employees of each sending counterpart organizati-
on shall be immune from suit and legal processes relating to
acts performed by them within the scope of their authorized
functions, unless such immunity be specifically waived by t-
he sending counterpart organization.
(f) The receiving counterpart organization shall undertake to e-
nsure that the designated employees of the sending counterp-
art organization shall be exempt from payment of central and
local sales taxes, except those normally included in the pr-
ice of goods and services. This exemption shall not, howeve-
r, extend to charges for specific services rendered.
(g) The designated employees of the primary office of a sending
counterpart organization, except persons who are nationals
or permanent residents of the jurisdiction in which the rec-
eiving counterpart organization is located, shall be exempt
from all taxes and dues imposed by central or local authori-
ties of the jurisdiction in which the receiving counterpart
organization is located in connection with the ownership or
operation of a motor vehicle. The receiving counterpart org-
anization shall undertake to ensure that these employees sh-
all also be exempt from payment of central excise taxes on
gasoline, diesel fuel and lubricating oil.
(h) A sending counterpart organization and its designated emplo-
yees and their families, except nationals or permanent resi-
dents of the jurisdiction in which the receiving counterpart
organization is located, shall be entitled, insofar as cust-
oms duties, customs clearance, and internal revenue taxes i-
mposed by reason of importation of baggage and effects, as
well as laws regulating entry into and departure from the j-
urisdiction in which the receiving counterpart organization
is located, alien registration and fingerprinting, and regi-
stration of foreign agents are concerned, to the privileges,
exemptions and immunities equivalent to those accorded under
similar circumstances in the United States to public intern-
ational organizations, their officers and employees as well
as members of their famlies.
(i) With respect to the treatment of authorized communications
and imposition of taxes for authorized communications, a se-
nding counterpart organization shall be entitled to privile-
ges, exemptions and immunities equivalent to those accorded
a public international organization in the United States.
ARTICLE 6
(a) Each counterpart organization shall possess the capacity:
(i) to contract;
(ii) to acquire and dispose of real and personal property, and
(iii) to institute legal proceedings
(b) In order that it may effectively perform its functions, each
sending counterpart organization shall enjoy in the territo-
ry in which the receiving counterpart organization is locat-
ed, immunity from suit and legal processes equivalent to th-
ose enjoyed by public international organizations in the Un
ited States.
ARTICLE 7
This Agreement may be modified at any time by mutual consent.
ARTICLE 8
This Agreement is effective on the date of signature and will r-
emain in effect indefinitely. It may, however, be terminated by
either party upon one year's prior written notice to the other
party or, otherwise, by mutual agreement.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned duly authorized for this pur-
pose, have signed this Agreement.
Done at Washington, D.C., on this second day of October, 1980.
For the Coordination Council for North American Affairs:
(Signed)
Konsin Shah
For the American Institute in Taiwan:
(Signed)
David Dean
Ⅰ Letter from Mr. David Dean, Chairman of the Board and Managi-
ng Director of American Institute in Taiwan, to Mr. Konsin S-
hah, Representative of Coordination Council for North Americ-
an Affairs.
October 1,1980
Mr. Konsin Shah
Representative
Coordination Council for
North American Affairs
5161 River Road, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20016
Dear Konsin:
With reference to our recent conversation relating to the pr-
oposed agreement between the American Institute in Taiwan an-
d the Coordination Council for North American Affairs on pri-
vileges and immunities, I am writing to propose a method for
handling the question of any outstanding tax liabilities of
the CCNAA. These are obligations which may have been incurred
between the date of the establishment of the CCNAA in the Un-
ited States and the effective date of the bilateral agreemen-
t.
As I have previously advised you, it will not be possible to
make the privileges and immunities agreement retroactive to
January 1,1979. However, in recognition of the stated policy
of the United States Congress to ensure that the representat-
ion of Taiwan in the United States retain appropriate privil-
eges and immunities as are necessary for the effective perfo-
rmance of its functions (Section 10(c) of the Taiwan Relatio-
ns Act), the AIT is prepared to take whatever steps as are n-
ecessary in order to eliminate any gap in the enjoyment of p-
rivileges and immunities by the CCNAA.
To this end, the AIT is willing to correspond with local aut-
horities for the purpose of securing their cooperation in pr-
eserving for the CCNAA and its personnel those privileges and
immunities which the Taiwan representation previously enjoyed
in the United States and which would be preserved under the
proposed bilateral agreement for the period between the esta-
blishment of the CCNAA and the effective date of the bilater-
al agreement.
I hope that this action will eliminate any remaining concerns
on the part of the CCNAA respecting the need for establishing
a retroactive effective date for the privileges and immuniti-
es agreement.
Sincerely,
(Signed)
David Dean
Chairman of the Board
and Managing Director
Ⅱ Letter from Mr. Konsin Shah, Representative of Coordination
Council for North American Affairs, to Mr. David Dean, Chair-
man of the Board and Managing Director of American Institute
in Taiwan
October 2,1980
S 1-68066
Dear david:
Pursuant to the previous discussion between our two parties
on the implementation of Article 5 (d) concerning the taxexe-
mption of real property used for the performance of both par-
ties' authorized functions, it is mutually understood that t-
he above-mentioned privileges be construed as including the
real property used as the residences of each CCNAA branch of-
fice's director in the U.S.A.
Your confirmation in this regard is appreciated.
Sincerely,
(Signed)
Konsin Shah
Representative
Mr. David Dean
Chairman of the Board and
Managing Director
American Institute in Taiwan
1700 N Moore Street, 17th Flr.
Arlington, VA 22209
Ⅲ Letter from Mr. David Dean, Chairman of the Board and Managi-
ng Director of American Institute in Taiwan, to Mr. Konsin S-
hah, Representative of Coordination Council for North Americ-
an Affairs.
October 2,1980
Mr. Konsin C. Shah
Representative
Coordination Council for
North American Affairs
5161 River Road, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20016
Dear Konsin:
I refer to your letter of October 2 (S1-68066) concerning Ar-
ticle 5(d) of our agreement on Privileges and immunities. I
confirm that the assumptions and understandings expressed in
your letter are correct.
Sincerely yours,
(Signed)
David Dean
Chairman of the Board
and Managing Director
AIDE-MEMOIRE
S1-68067
Upon signing the English text of the Agreement on Privileges, E-
xemptions and Immunities between the American Institute in Taiw-
an and the Coordination Council for North American Affairs, it
is understood that, pending further consultation, the said Chin-
ese text will be signed whenever both parties concerned are able
to reach an agreement.
October 2,1980
David Dean
Chairman of the Board and
Managing Director
American Institute in Taiwan
(signed)
Konsin C. Shah
Representative
Coordination Council
for North American
Affairs
Office in U.S.A.