Discussions are being held with the Venezuelan government to keep a Taiwanese representation office in Venezuela, following non-renewal of visas for Taiwanese diplomats, said Thursday Wang Chien-yeh, the spokesman for the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"We are keeping in touch with Venezuela in order to try to solve the problem. We expect our representation office to continue working in the country," the official added.

Since last March, the Venezuelan government, with no diplomatic ties with Taiwan and a pro-China stance, has increasingly taken a number of steps to the detriment of Taiwan, DPA reported.

That very month, Venezuela made null and void a 90-day visa exemption favoring Taiwanese tourists. In mid June, renewal of the visas of a team of five Taiwanese nationals working with the representation office in Caracas, the so-called Economic and Cultural Office of Taipei, was stopped.