25°02′33″N121°31′11″E / 25.04250°N 121.51972°E /25.04250; 121.51972
| 大陸委員會 Dàlù Wěiyuánhuì (Mandarin) Thai-liu̍k Vî-yèn-fi (Hakka) | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | August 1988 (as Inter-Agency Mainland Affairs Committee) 28 January 1991 (as MAC)[1] |
| Preceding agency |
|
| Jurisdiction | Republic of China |
| Headquarters | Zhongzheng,Taipei, Taiwan |
| Ministers responsible |
|
| Parent agency | Executive Yuan |
| Child agency | |
| Website | www |
| Mainland Affairs Council | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 大陸委員會 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 大陆委员会 | ||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Mainland Committee | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
TheMainland Affairs Council (MAC) is acabinet-level administrative agency under theExecutive Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The MAC is responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of thecross-strait relations policy which targetsmainland China,Hong Kong andMacau.[2]
The MAC's counterpart body in thePeople's Republic of China is theTaiwan 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 theMinistry of Foreign Affairs.
The council plays an important role in setting policy and development of cross-strait relations and advising the central government.[2] It is administered by acabinet level Minister. The current Minister isChiu Tai-san. The agency funds and indirectly administers theStraits Exchange Foundation which directly interacts with agencies from the PRC.
The government of ROC does not recognize the legitimacy and sovereignty of PRC since its establishment in 1949, andheated 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 theConstitution of the Republic of China. The People's Republic of China controlsmainland 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. TheExecutive Yuan established theInter-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 theLegislative Yuan on 18 January 1991. On 28 January 1991, the act was promulgated byPresidentLee Teng-hui thus officially authorized theMainland 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 theMongolian 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]
As cross-strait relations worsened again in the early 2020s, the MAC banned Taiwanese citizens from working atConfucius Institutes, theAssociation for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), theAll-China Youth Federation, and theAll-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots in 2024 out of national security concerns.[4] In January 2025, the MAC revoked the operating license ofThe Strait Herald due to itsunited front work on the island.[5]
The agency is organized in the following departments:[6]
Non-partisan/ unknown Kuomintang (Nationalist) Democratic Progressive Party Taiwan Solidarity Union
Media related toMainland Affairs Council at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
