Mainland Affairs Council

Coordinates: 25°02′33″N 121°31′11″E / 25.04250°N 121.51972°E / 25.04250; 121.51972

Mainland Affairs Council
大陸委員會
Dàlù Wěiyuánhuì
Agency overview
Formed August 1988 (as Inter-Agency Mainland Affairs Committee)
28 January 1991 (as MAC)[1]
Jurisdiction  Republic of China
Headquarters Zhongzheng, Taipei
Ministers responsible
Parent agency Executive Yuan
Website www.mac.gov.tw
Mainland Affairs Council
Traditional Chinese 大陸委員會
Simplified Chinese 大陆委员会

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is a cabinet-level administrative agency under the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China. The MAC is responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of policies between the Republic of China on Taiwan and the People's Republic of China which administers mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. The MAC counterpart body by the PRC is the Taiwan Affairs Office. Both countries officially claim each other's territory, however the Republic of China controls only Taiwan and surrounding islands, and therefore is usually known as "Taiwan", sometimes referred to as the "Free Area" of the Republic of China by the Pan-Blue Coalition. The People's Republic of China controls mainland China as well as Hong Kong, Macau, Hainan, and other islands and is therefore usually known simply as "China".

The Mainland Affairs Council is administered by a cabinet level Minister. The current Minister is Katharine Chang.

The council plays an important role in setting policy and development of relations with mainland China and advising the central government. The agency funds and indirectly administers the Straits Exchange Foundation which is the official intermediary with the PRC.

History

In November 1987, relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have improved a lot after ROC government began to allow family-related visits to Mainland China. The Executive Yuan therefore established the Inter-Agency Mainland Affairs Committee in August 1988 as a task force to handle mainland-related affairs among the authorities. In April 1990, the ROC government drafted the Organization Act for the Mainland Affairs Council to strengthen Mainland China policy making and to enhance policy making efficiency. The third reading of the act was passed by the Legislative Yuan on 18 January 1991. On 28 January 1991, the act was promulgated by President Lee Teng-hui thus officially authorized the Mainland Affairs Council to be the agency for the overall planning and handling of affairs towards Mainland China.[1]

Organizational structure

The Council office

The agency is organized in the following departments:[2]

Internal departments

Offices

Others

List of MAC heads

Katharine Chang, the incumbent Minister of MAC.

  Non-partisan/ unknown   Kuomintang (Nationalist)   Democratic Progressive Party   Taiwan Solidarity Union

№ Name Term of Office Days Political Party Premier
1 Shih Chi-yang (施啟揚) 7 February 1991 31 May 1991 113 Kuomintang Hau Pei-tsun
2 Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) 1 June 1991 14 December 1994 1292 Kuomintang Hau Pei-tsun
Lien Chan
3 Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) 15 December 1994 3 December 1995 353 Kuomintang Lien Chan
— Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉) 3 December 1995 27 February 1996 86 Kuomintang Lien Chan
4 Chang King-yuh (張京育) 28 February 1996 31 January 1999 1068 Kuomintang Lien Chan
Vincent Siew
5 Su Chi (蘇起) 1 February 1999 19 May 2000 473 Kuomintang Vincent Siew
6 Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) 20 May 2000 19 May 2004 1460 Independent Tang Fei
Chang Chun-hsiung
Yu Shyi-kun
7 Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) 20 May 2004 10 April 2007 1055 Democratic Progressive Party Yu Shyi-kun
Frank Hsieh
Su Tseng-chang
8 Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) 10 April 2007 19 May 2008 405 Democratic Progressive Party Su Tseng-chang
Chang Chun-hsiung
9 Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) 20 May 2008 28 September 2012 1592[3] Taiwan Solidarity Union Liu Chao-shiuan
Wu Den-yih
Sean Chen
10 Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) 28 September 2012 16 February 2015 871 Kuomintang Sean Chen
Jiang Yi-huah
Mao Chi-kuo
11 Andrew Hsia (夏立言) 16 February 2015 19 May 2016 458 Mao Chi-kuo
Chang San-cheng
12 Katharine Chang (張小月) 20 May 2016 Incumbent 209 Independent Lin Chuan

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mainland Affairs Council.

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.mac.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=94003&ctNode=7108&mp=3
  2. ↑ http://www.mac.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=94005&ctNode=7108&mp=3
  3. ↑ Longest serving minister.
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