Mainland Affairs Council
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The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is a cabinet-level administrative agency under the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The MAC is responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of the cross-strait relations policy which targets mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.<ref name="tail">Template:Cite book</ref>
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, though both sides control only part of the claimed territory. The affairs related to the PRC in mainland China is dealt by the MAC, instead of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The council plays an important role in setting policy and development of cross-strait relations and advising the central government.<ref name="tail" /> It is administered by a cabinet level Minister. The current Minister is Chiu Tai-san. The agency funds and indirectly administers the Straits Exchange Foundation which directly interacts with agencies from the PRC.
HistoryEdit
The government of ROC does not recognize the legitimacy and sovereignty of PRC since its establishment in 1949, and heated armed conflicts went on between both parties. The Republic of China controls only Taiwan, Penghu, and some other islands, and therefore is usually known as "Taiwan", sometimes referred to as the "Free Area" in 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, and other islands, and is therefore usually known as "China". As the relation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait cooled down, ROC government allowed family-related visits to mainland China in November 1987. The Executive Yuan 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.<ref name="autogenerated1"/><ref name=tail />
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
As cross-strait relations worsened again in the early 2020s, the MAC banned Taiwanese citizens from working at Confucius Institutes, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), the All-China Youth Federation, and the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots in 2024 out of national security concerns.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In January 2025, the MAC revoked the operating license of The Strait Herald due to its united front work on the island.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Organizational structureEdit
The agency is organized in the following departments:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Internal departmentsEdit
- 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
OfficesEdit
- Secretariat
- Personnel Office
- Accounting Office
- Civil Servant Ethics Office
- Information Management
OthersEdit
List of MAC headsEdit
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| No. | Name | Term of Office | Days | Political Party | Premier | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 1 | Shih Chi-yang {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
7 February 1991 | 31 May 1991 | Template:Age in days | Kuomintang | Hau Pei-tsun |
| style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 2 | Huang Kun-huei {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
1 June 1991 | 14 December 1994 | Template:Age in days | Hau Pei-tsun Lien Chan | |
| style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 3 | Vincent Siew {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
15 December 1994 | 3 December 1995 | Template:Age in days | Lien Chan | |
| style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | — | Kao Koong-lian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
3 December 1995 | 27 February 1996 | Template:Age in days | Lien Chan | |
| style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 4 | Chang King-yuh {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
28 February 1996 | 31 January 1999 | Template:Age in days | Lien Chan Vincent Siew | |
| style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 5 | Su Chi {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
1 February 1999 | 19 May 2000 | Template:Age in days | Vincent Siew | |
| style="background:Template:Party color; color:black;" | 6 | Tsai Ing-wen {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
20 May 2000 | 19 May 2004 | Template:Age in days | Independent | Tang Fei Chang Chun-hsiung I Yu Shyi-kun |
| style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 7 | Joseph Wu {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
20 May 2004 | 10 April 2007 | Template:Age in days | Democratic Progressive Party | Yu Shyi-kun Frank Hsieh Su Tseng-chang I |
| style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 8 | Chen Ming-tong {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
10 April 2007 | 19 May 2008 | Template:Age in days | Su Tseng-chang I Chang Chun-hsiung II | |
| style="background:Template:Party color; color:black;" | 9 | Lai Shin-yuan {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
20 May 2008 | 28 September 2012 | Template:Age in days | Taiwan Solidarity Union | Liu Chao-shiuan Wu Den-yih Sean Chen |
| style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 10 | Wang Yu-chi {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
28 September 2012 | 16 February 2015 | Template:Age in days | Kuomintang | Sean Chen Jiang Yi-huah Mao Chi-kuo |
| style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 11 | Andrew Hsia {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
16 February 2015 | 19 May 2016 | Template:Age in days | Mao Chi-kuo Chang San-cheng | |
| style="background:Template:Party color; color:black;" | 12 | Katharine Chang {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
20 May 2016 | 26 February 2018 | Template:Age in days | Independent | Lin Chuan William Lai |
| style="background:Template:Party color; color:black;" | — | Lin Cheng-yi as acting {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
26 February 2018 | 19 March 2018 | Template:Age in days | William Lai | |
| style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | (8) | Chen Ming-tong {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
19 March 2018 | 23 February 2021 | Template:Age in days | Democratic Progressive Party | William Lai Su Tseng-chang II |
| style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 13 | Chiu Tai-san {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
23 February 2021 | 20 May 2024 | Template:Age in days | Su Tseng-chang II Chen Chien-jen | |
| style="background:Template:Party color; color:white;" | 14 | Chiu Chui-cheng {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
20 May 2024 | Incumbent | Template:Age in days | Cho Jung-tai | |
See alsoEdit
- National Unification Council
- Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau
- Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland — similar organization in North Korea
- Ministry of Unification — similar organization in South Korea
- Minister of Intra-German Relations — similar organization in West Germany
- State Ministry for Reconciliation and Civic Equality of Georgia — similar organization in Georgia
- Ministry of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories — similar organization in Ukraine
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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