The Tsai administration has appointed a new head for the Straits Exchange Foundation in hopes for improving cross-Strait exchange.
The News Lens
Date: 2016/09/02
By: Mo Tz-pin
Former foreign minister Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂) has been appointed as the new chairman of Taiwan’s
Photo Credit：kai Stachowiak@Public domain pictures
Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), a semi-official organization set up by the Taiwanese government to handle daily affairs between Taiwan and China.
The SEF works closely with its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS). Some communication mechanisms between the two sides have been suspended since June as Beijing attempts Taipei to recognize the “1992 consensus.”
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) announced the appointment on Wednesday.
Previously a representative of Taiwan to the U.K., Tien, 78, is currently chairman of the Institute of National Policy Research. He has spent many years researching international affairs and China. Tien has also served as a top advisor to the Chinese National Federation of Industries in Taipei, working closely with the Taiwanese business sectors. [FULL STORY]
