The Taiwan Affairs Office is an administrative agency under the State Council of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is responsible for Cross-Strait relations and sets and implements guidelines and policies related to the Republic of China (Taiwan). Under the "one institution with two names" arrangement, it is equivalent to the Chinese Communist Party's Taiwan Work Office under the CCP Central Committee; the party title is used for party-to-party interactions with Taiwan.

Taiwan Affairs Office
国务院台湾事务办公室
中共中央台灣工作辦公室
Logo of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council

Headquarters in Beijing
Agency overview
Formed1955 (party)
1988 (state)
Preceding agency
  • People's Bureau of Unification (1955–1988)
JurisdictionPeople's Republic of China
Headquarters6-1 Guang'anmen South Street, Xicheng District, Beijing
Agency executives
Parent agencyCentral Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs
Child agency
Websitewww.gwytb.gov.cn Edit this at Wikidata
Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council
Simplified Chinese国务院台湾事务办公室
Traditional Chinese國務院台灣事務辦公室
Literal meaningState Affairs Court Taiwan Affairs Office
Acronym
Simplified Chinese国台办
Traditional Chinese國台辦
Literal meaningState Taiwan Office

The office promotes Chinese unification and manages activities pertaining to the relationship across the Taiwan Strait and which may require interfacing with the government of Taiwan.[1] These include: preparing for negotiations and agreements; direct mail, transport and trade links; controlling and censoring media and public relations; handling major incidents;[2] economic planning; intergovernmental exchanges and cooperation; personnel exchanges, observers and symposia; and work for international conferences involving Taiwan.

History edit

In 2007, the Taiwan Affairs Office established the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland [zh] (ATIEM), consisting of Taiwanese businesses operating in mainland China.[3] Prior to the 2012 Taiwanese legislative and presidential elections, ATIEM organized discounted flights to Taiwan for Taishang to vote in Taiwanese elections.[4][5]

List of directors edit

Directors of the Central Committee Taiwan Affairs Office
Name Duration of Office
Qi Yanming 1955 – 1966
Luo Qingchang 1978 – 1982
Yang Yindong 1982 – September 1985
Yang Side 1985 – March 1991
Directors of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office
Ding Guangen 30 October 1988 – 16 November 1990
Wang Zhaoguo 16 November 1990 – 9 December 1996
Chen Yunlin 9 December 1996 – 3 June 2008
Wang Yi 3 June 2008 – 17 March 2013
Zhang Zhijun 17 March 2013 – 19 March 2018
Liu Jieyi 19 March 2018 – 28 December 2022
Song Tao 28 December 2022 –

List of spokespersons edit

Spokespersons of the Taiwan Affairs Office
Name Duration of office
Zhang Mingqing September 2000 – 27 October 2004
Li Weiyi March 2002 – 17 December 2008
Yang Yi January 2007 – 25 September 2013
Fan Liqing January 2007 – 27 May 2015
Ma Xiaoguang January 2014 – June 2023
An Fengshan October 2015 – July 2019
Zhu Fenglian November 2019 – present
Chen Binhua June 2023 – present

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "China calls on Taiwan's people to promote 'peaceful reunification'". Reuters. January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  2. ^ Blanchard, Ben (25 Jun 2016). "China says has stopped communication mechanism with Taiwan". Reuters. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  3. ^ Hsiao, Russell (2023-04-19). "China Ramps Up Economic Coercion on Taiwan Ahead of 2024 Elections". Global Taiwan Institute. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  4. ^ "How China's shadowy agency is working to absorb Taiwan". Reuters. 2014-11-27. Archived from the original on 2023-03-09. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  5. ^ Barss, Edward J. (2022-02-06). Chinese Election Interference in Taiwan. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003157434. ISBN 978-1-000-51949-5. OCLC 1273727799. S2CID 245973725.

External links edit