Taiwan has pulled off a coup in Washington by winning the services of former White House candidate Bob Dole as an adviser.
Taipei, already near the top of the list of international big spenders on lobbying in the American capital, is paying Mr Dole US$30,000 (HK$232,200) a month to represent its interests.
The move is likely to irritate Beijing, which has in recent years been concerned that its voice in Washington is being drowned out by the hugely-expensive Taiwanese lobbying operation.
Mr Dole will work through the Washington law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, which he joined after losing the 1996 presidential election to Bill Clinton.
However, his office was eager to stress he would be acting merely as an adviser rather than engaging in lobbying his former colleagues on Capitol Hill.
Although Mr Dole showed support for Taiwan during his tenure as Republican leader in the Senate, he was also a moderate on China issues and routinely supported the renewal of Beijing's trading privileges.