House and Senate lawmakers propose bills to change name of Taiwan's de facto embassy in DC, a move guaranteed to anger China

• Many countries don't call Taiwan's diplomatic missions embassies to avoid angering China.
• Taiwan's de facto US embassy is called "Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office."

Lawmakers in the House and Senate on Thursday proposed identical bills to start changing the name of Taiwan's de facto embassy in Washington, DC.

The move is sure to rile Beijing, which considers Taiwan a Chinese territory and bullies other nations to follow suit. Taiwan, which has been self-ruling for decades, fiercely maintains its independence.

Taiwan's de facto embassy in Washington is currently called the "Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office."

But a bill submitted in the House by Rep. John Curtis and in the Senate by Sen. Marco Rubio said the State Department should urge Taiwan to rename its office the 'Taiwan Representative Office."

It's common for many nations to refer to Taiwan as "Taipei" or "Chinese Taipei" to avoid the wrath of Beijing.

HB 6578 and SB 3573 both seek "to direct the Secretary of State to seek to enter into negotiations with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office to rename its office the 'Taiwan Representative Office,' and for other purposes."

Rubio told Reuters: "The US must make clear that, despite all efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to intimidate and coerce Taiwan, hostile powers have no right to claim sovereignty over democratic countries."

The news follows Lithuania's decision to allow Taiwan to open a representation office in Vilnius in November and use the name "Taiwan" rather than "Chinese Taipei."

China threatened to consign Lithuania to "the garbage bin of history" as a result.