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, 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.
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. In January 2025, the MAC revoked the operating license of The Strait Herald due to its united front work on the island.
Organizational structure
thumb|Mainland Affairs Council office
thumb|Mainland Affairs Council press conference lectern
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
List of MAC heads
thumb|[[Chiu Chui-cheng, current Minister of MAC.]]
{| class="wikitable"
|--
! No.
! width="180"|Name
! colspan=2 width="180"|Term of Office
! Days
! width="100"|Political Party
! width="120"|Premier
|--
! style="background:; color:white;" | 1
| align=center|Shih Chi-yang<br>
| 7 February 1991 || 31 May 1991 ||
| rowspan="6" | Kuomintang
| Hau Pei-tsun
|--
! style="background:; color:white;" | 2
| align=center|Huang Kun-huei<br>
| 1 June 1991 || 14 December 1994 ||
| Hau Pei-tsun<br>Lien Chan
|--
! style="background:; color:white;" | 3
| align=center|Vincent Siew<br>
| 15 December 1994 || 3 December 1995 ||
| Lien Chan
|--
! style="background:; color:white;" | —
| align=center|Kao Koong-lian<br>
| 3 December 1995 || 27 February 1996 ||
| Lien Chan
|--
! style="background:; color:white;" | 4
| align=center|Chang King-yuh<br>
| 28 February 1996 || 31 January 1999 ||
| Lien Chan<br>Vincent Siew
|--
! style="background:; color:white;" | 5
| align=center|Su Chi<br>
| 1 February 1999 || 19 May 2000 ||
| Vincent Siew
|--
! style="background:; color:black;" | 6
| align=center|Tsai Ing-wen<br>
| 20 May 2000 || 19 May 2004 ||
| Independent
| Tang Fei<br>Chang Chun-hsiung I<br>Yu Shyi-kun
|--
! style="background:; color:white;" | 7
| align=center|Joseph Wu<br>
| 20 May 2004 || 10 April 2007 ||
| rowspan="2" | Democratic Progressive Party
| Yu Shyi-kun<br>Frank Hsieh<br>Su Tseng-chang I
|--
! style="background:; color:white;" | 8
| align=center|Chen Ming-tong<br>
| 10 April 2007 || 19 May 2008 ||
| Su Tseng-chang I<br>Chang Chun-hsiung II
|--
! style="background:; color:black;" | 9
| align=center|Lai Shin-yuan<br>
| 20 May 2008 || 28 September 2012 ||
| Taiwan Solidarity Union
| Liu Chao-shiuan<br>Wu Den-yih<br>Sean Chen
|--
! style="background:; color:white;" | 10
| align=center|Wang Yu-chi<br>
| 28 September 2012 || 16 February 2015 ||
| rowspan="2" | Kuomintang
| Sean Chen<br>Jiang Yi-huah<br>Mao Chi-kuo
|--
! style="background:; color:white;" | 11
| align=center|Andrew Hsia<br>
| 16 February 2015 || 19 May 2016 ||
| Mao Chi-kuo<br>Chang San-cheng
|--
! style="background:; color:black;" | 12
| align=center|Katharine Chang<br>
| 20 May 2016 || 26 February 2018 ||
| rowspan="2" | Independent
| Lin Chuan<br>William Lai
|--
! style="background:; color:black;" | —
| align=center|Lin Cheng-yi as acting<br>
| 26 February 2018 || 19 March 2018 ||
| William Lai
|--
! style="background:; color:white;" | <small>(8)</small>
| align=center|Chen Ming-tong<br>
| 19 March 2018 || 23 February 2021 ||
| rowspan="3" | Democratic Progressive Party
| William Lai<br>Su Tseng-chang II
|--
! style="background:; color:white;" | 13
| align=center|Chiu Tai-san<br>
| 23 February 2021 || 20 May 2024 ||
| Su Tseng-chang II<br>Chen Chien-jen
|--
! style="background:; color:white;" | 14
| align=center|Chiu Chui-cheng<br>
| 20 May 2024 || Incumbent ||
| Cho Jung-tai
|--
|}
See also
- Taiwan Affairs Office — counterpart body in China
- 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