The China Post
Date: June 14, 2016
By: Joseph Yeh
TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Overseas Community Affairs Council’s (OCAC, 僑委會) head came out Monday
DPP lawmaker Wang Ting-yu, left, speaks to Overseas Community Affairs Council Minister Wu Hsin-hsing (吳新興) during a legislative session in Taipei on Monday, June 13. (Image captured from the internet)
against a proposal to integrate the OCAC into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), saying the council was crucial to showing nationals abroad that the Taiwanese government cared about their interests.
Fielding questions during a legislative session, Minister Wu Hsin-hsing (吳新興) said the OCAC has provided invaluable services to Taiwanese people living overseas, as well as other ethnic Chinese people, in the more than 85 years since its founding.
“The OCAC’s existence is important as a declaration by the R.O.C. government to overseas compatriots that we care about them,” Wu said.
He said it was true that many countries had put overseas compatriot affairs under the management of their foreign ministries.
However, Wu said that because of Taiwan’s “diplomatic challenges,” it was crucial that both MOFA and OCAC work together overseas, saying the two government bodies “complement each other’s work.” [FULL STORY]
