Mainland Affairs Council

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.

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 Penghu as well as 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, 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 council plays an important role in setting policy and development of Cross-Strait relations and advising the central government. The agency funds and indirectly administers the Straits Exchange Foundation which is the official intermediary with the PRC. It is administered by a cabinet level Minister. The current Minister is Chiu Tai-san.

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. 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.

In 2024, 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 due to national security concerns.

Organizational structure
The agency is organized in the following departments:

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

 * Office of Hong Kong Affairs
 * Office of Macao Affairs