Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Jordan has asked Taiwan to change the name of its representative office in Amman, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Saturday, citing pressure from China.

As a result, the name of the office will soon be changed from the Commercial Office of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, MOFA spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) told CNA.

While the name change is a blow to Taiwan's international image, the office will continue to function as usual and to actively promote bilateral exchanges and cooperation in the areas of culture, academia and trade, he said.

The request by Jordan was not surprising, as China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been pushing Jordan on issue since last year, Lee said.

In June 2017, China began pressuring Jordan, Nigeria, Bahrain, Ecuador, and the United Arab Emirates to request the removal of the words "Republic of China" or "Taiwan" from the names of Taiwan's representative offices in the respective countries, according to MOFA.

Jordan was the last one to make the request, MOFA said, adding that the change has already been made in the other four countries.

*Focus Taiwan