After the Japanese surrender ceremonies were conducted by the Republic of China on 25 October 1945, the United States established its consulate at the building on 4 April 1946. In 1948, it was upgraded to a consulate-general as the Consulate of the United States, Taipei and handled American business in Taiwan at the present address in Taipei's Zhongshan District. The first appointee to be stationed as consul general at the consulate was Robert C. Strong.
In 1950, the Korean War broke out, the United States again started aiding the Republic of China. In addition, ambassador was accredited to the Republic of China. In 1953, it was upgraded to an embassy status four years after taking over Nanjing.
On 1 January 1979, the United States switched diplomatic relations from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China and subsequently the American Institute in Taiwan was established on 16 January 1979 to maintain non-diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The US embassy in Taipei was closed on 28 February 1979 and the building was left abandoned.[2]
In 1957, there were protests at the embassy after a killing and alleged murder of a Republic of China national.
On 20 February 1997, the building was listed as historic monument by the government of the Republic of China. In 2000, the Taipei City Government and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) under the Cultural and Educational Foundation began renovating the building. The building now houses the Taipei Film House.
Architecture
The building is a two-story mansion with white exterior wall with Victorian and American colonial style. The main hallway faces north with jutting veranda on its east side. The interior layout is designed around the central staircase.
‡ Missions which are located in countries or cities that may be considered a part of more than one continent
1 Consulates-General which function as an embassy (ie. consul reports to State Department, not the respective country's ambassador)
2 The American Institute in Taiwan is ostensibly a public, non-profit organization to promote US-Taiwanese relations, but through State Department staffing & assistance, functions as an informal US diplomatic mission.
