Mainland Affairs Council

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is a cabinet-level administrative agency under the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China in Taiwan.

Mainland Affairs Council
大陸委員會
Dàlù Wěiyuánhuì (Mandarin)
Thai-liu̍k Vî-yèn-fi (Hakka)
Agency overview
FormedAugust 1988 (as Inter-Agency Mainland Affairs Committee)
28 January 1991 (as MAC)[1]
JurisdictionRepublic of China
HeadquartersZhongzheng, Taipei
Ministers responsible
Parent agencyExecutive Yuan
Websitewww.mac.gov.tw
Mainland Affairs Council
Traditional Chinese大陸委員會
Simplified Chinese大陆委员会
Literal meaningMainland Committee

The MAC is responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of the cross-strait relations policy which targets mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.[2]

The MAC's counterpart body in the People's Republic of China is the Taiwan Affairs Office. Both states 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 Constitution of the Republic of China. 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". Therefore, the affairs related to the PRC belongs to the MAC, not the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Mainland Affairs Council is administered by a cabinet level Minister. The current Minister is Chen Ming-tong.

The council plays an important role in setting policy and development of cross-strait relations and advising the central government.[2] 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 considerably 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 taskforce 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][2] In 2017, some of the responsibilities of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission (MTAC) were absorbed into the MAC's Department of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs, creating the expanded Department of Hong Kong, Macao, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet Affairs.[3]

Organizational structure
Mainland Affairs Council office
Mainland Affairs Council press conference lectern

The agency is organized in the following departments:[4]

Internal departments
  • Department of Policy Planning
  • Department of Cultural and Educational Affairs
  • Department of Economic Affairs
  • Department of Legal Affairs
  • Department of Hong Kong, Macao, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet Affairs
  • Department of Information and Liaison

Offices
  • Secretariat
  • Personnel Office
  • Accounting Office
  • Civil Servant Ethics Office
  • Information Management

Others

List of MAC heads
Chen Ming-tong, 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 199131 May 1991113 Kuomintang Hau Pei-tsun
2 Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) 1 June 199114 December 19941292 Kuomintang Hau Pei-tsun
Lien Chan
3 Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) 15 December 19943 December 1995353 Kuomintang Lien Chan
— Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉) 3 December 199527 February 199686 Kuomintang Lien Chan
4 Chang King-yuh (張京育) 28 February 199631 January 19991068 Kuomintang Lien Chan
Vincent Siew
5 Su Chi (蘇起) 1 February 199919 May 2000473 Kuomintang Vincent Siew
6 Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) 20 May 200019 May 20041460 Independent Tang Fei
Chang Chun-hsiung
Yu Shyi-kun
7 Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) 20 May 200410 April 20071055 Democratic Progressive Party Yu Shyi-kun
Frank Hsieh
Su Tseng-chang I
8 Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) 10 April 200719 May 2008405 Democratic Progressive Party Su Tseng-chang I
Chang Chun-hsiung
9 Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) 20 May 200828 September 20121592 Taiwan Solidarity Union Liu Chao-shiuan
Wu Den-yih
Sean Chen
10 Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) 28 September 201216 February 2015871 Kuomintang Sean Chen
Jiang Yi-huah
Mao Chi-kuo
11 Andrew Hsia (夏立言) 16 February 201519 May 2016458 Mao Chi-kuo
Chang San-cheng
12 Katharine Chang (張小月) 20 May 201626 February 2018647 Independent Lin Chuan
William Lai
— Lin Cheng-yi (林正義) as acting 26 February 201819 March 201821 Independent William Lai
(8) Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) 19 March 2018Incumbent1053 Democratic Progressive Party William Lai
Su Tseng-chang II

See also

References
  1. http://www.mac.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=94003&ctNode=7108&mp=3
  2. Chi, Su (2009). "Conciliation in cross-strait relations". Taiwan's relations with Mainland China. London and New York: Routledge. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-415-46454-3. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  3. "Taiwan calls time on Mongolia and Tibet affairs commission". South China Morning Post. 2017-08-16. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
  4. http://www.mac.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=94005&ctNode=7108&mp=3
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