Taiwan Politics Database
www.taiwan-database.net

Other central government agencies

  1. Diverse major agencies / Semi-official organizations
  2. Handling of the Cross-Strait relations
  3. State-owned enterprises / Public institutions
  4. The ROC military
Note: Users of this website can also refer to the Site Map for more details about which agencies, organizations and companies are introduced on this page. In addition to various agencies and institutions affiliated with the ROC military, 7 important ROC government agencies and semi-official organizations plus 16 state-owned enterprises and public institutions are presented here.

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◆ Diverse major agencies / Semi-official organizations


Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN)

Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) 行政院經貿談判辦公室
3 F., No. 25 Baoqing Road,
Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 10043, Taiwan ROC
[10043 台北市中正區寶慶路 25 號 3 樓]
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🌏 OTN – Web link
Description: Nologo07

The OTN (xingzhengyuan jingmao tanpan bangongshi 行政院經貿談判辦公室, 🏁—zong tanpan daibiao 總談判代表) under the ROC Executive Yuan was established on Sept. 20, 2016 and is designed to spearhead the ROC's international trade negotiations as well as shape the country's position in such negotiations. It is headed by the minister without portfolio (zhengwu weiyuan 政務委員) in charge of trade policy coordination.

OTN chief negotiators

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
9/2016—John C. C. Deng 鄧振中b. 1952N/A

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Kinmen-Matsu Joint Services Center

Kinmen-Matsu Joint Services Center 行政院金馬聯合服務中心
No. 34 Minquan Road,
Jincheng Town, Kinmen County 89345, Fujian ROC
[89345 金門縣金城鎮民權路 34 號]
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🌏 Kinmen-Matsu Joint Services Center – Web link
Description: Nologo07

The Kinmen-Matsu Joint Services Center (xingzhengyuan Jin Ma lianhe fuwu zhongxin 行政院金馬聯合服務中心, 🏁—zhuren 主任) under the ROC Executive Yuan was established on Jan. 17, 2017. When the ROC's Fujian Provincial Government (FPG) became defunct at the end of December 2018, it was merged into the center, and the director of the agency—who is also a minister without portfolio—replaced the position of FPG governor. Another senior position in the Kinmen-Matsu Joint Services Center is CEO (zhixingzhang 執行長).
Additional information can be found in the chapters about Kinmen County and Lienchiang County (Matsu).

Kinmen-Matsu Joint Services Center director

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
1/2017—Chang Ching-sen 張景森b. 1959Taiwan

Kinmen-Matsu Joint Services Center CEO

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
1/2017—Wong Ming-chih 翁明志b. 1958Fujian

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Board of Science and Technology (BOST)

Board of Science and Technology (BOST) 行政院科技會報
5 F., No. 106 Heping East Road Sec. 2,
Daan District, Taipei City 10636, Taiwan ROC
[10636 台北市大安區和平東路 2 段 106 號 5 樓]
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🌏 BOST – Web link

In December 1979 the Science and Technology Advisory Group (xingzhengyuan keji guwenzu 行政院科技顧問組, abbrev. keguzu 科顧組 in Chinese and STAG in English) under the ROC Executive Yuan was established. After its inception, it was headed by a convener (zhaojiren 召集人) who was also a minister without portfolio. When political power in the ROC was transferred from the KMT to the DPP on May 20, 2000, STAG was reorganized to be headed by the ROC premier, and the position of co-convener (fuzhaojiren 副召集人) has since been filled by a minister without portfolio. Above list shows the conveners before May 2000 and since then the co-conveners. Additional important positions are executive secretary (zhixing mishu 執行秘書) and deputy executive secretary (fuzhixing mishu 副執行秘書). On Jan. 1, 2012 STAG was restructured as BOST (xingzhengyuan keji huibao 行政院科技會報).

BOST conveners/co-conveners

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
12/1979—7/1988Li Kwoh-ting 李國鼎1910-2001Jiangsu
6/1989—2/1993Kuo Nan-hung 郭南宏b. 1936Taiwan
2/1993—6/1996Hsia Han-min 夏漢民b. 1932Fujian
6/1996—5/2000Yang Shih-chien 楊世緘b. 1944Shanghai

5/2000—5/2004Tsay Ching-yen 蔡清彥b. 1944Taiwan
5/2004—5/2008Lin Ferng-ching 林逢慶b. 1947Taiwan
5/2008—2/2011Chang Jin-fu 張進福b. 1948Taiwan
3/2011—2/2012Cyrus C. Y. Chu 朱敬一b. 1955Taiwan
2/2012—3/2014Simon Chang San-cheng 張善政b. 1954N/A
3/2014—10/2014Chiang Been-huang 蔣丙煌b. 1951N/A
12/2014—2/2015Duh Tyzz-jiun 杜紫軍b. 1959Taiwan
2/2015—1/2016Yan Hong-sen 顏鴻森b. 1951Taiwan
2/2015—5/2016Shyu Jyuo-min 徐爵民b. 1954Taiwan
2/2016—5/2016Chung Char-dir 鐘嘉德N/AN/A
5/2016—2/2017Yang Hung-duen 楊弘敦b. 1956Taiwan
2/2017—Wu Tsung-tsong 吳政忠b. 1955N/A

Please note that the BOST website lists Yan Hong-sen 顏鴻森 as eighth co-convener and Shyu Jyuo-min 徐爵民 as ninth co-convener with mostly overlapping tenures.

BOST has the following subdivisions:

  Administration Division (xingzhengzu 行政組),
  Biotechnology, Health, Medicine and Agriculture Division (sheng wei yi nong zu 生衛醫農組),
  Digital Innovation & Governance Initiative Division (shuwei guojiazu 數位國家組),
  Industrial Innovation Division (chanye chuangxinzu 產業創新組),
  Policy Coordination Division (zhengce xietiaozu 政策協調組),
  S&T Foresight Division (keji qianzhanzu 科技前瞻組); and
  Office of Science & Technology (xingzhengyuan keji huibao bangongshi 行政院科技會報辦公室).

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Taiwan Transportation Safety Board (TTSB)

Taiwan Transportation Safety Board (TTSB) 國家運輸安全調查委員會
11 F., No. 200 Beixin Road Sec. 3,
Xindian District, New Taipei City 23143, Taiwan ROC
[23143 新北市新店區北新路 3 段 200 號 11 樓]
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🌏 TTSB – Web link
Old logo of the Aviation Safety Council (ASC)

The TTSB (guojia yunshu anquan diaocha weiyuanhui 國家運輸安全調查委員會, abbrev. yun'anhui 運安會, 🏁—zhuren weiyuan 主任委員) was established as Aviation Safety Council (xingzhengyuan feihang anquan weiyuanhui 行政院飛航安全委員會, abbrev. ASC) under the supervision of the Executive Yuan on May 25, 1998, some three months after an Airbus A300 operated by Taiwan's national carrier China Airlines (CAL) flying from Denpasar, Indonesia to Taiwan crash-landed at the Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taoyuan on Feb. 16, 1998, resulting in 204 fatalities, including ROC Central Bank governor Sheu Yuan-dong. On May 20, 2012 the ASC became an independent, level 3 government agency, and its Chinese name was changed to feihang anquan diaocha weiyuanhui 飛航安全調查委員會, abbrev. feianhui 飛安會). The ASC was then transformed to the TTSB on Aug. 1, 2019 after the Organization Act of the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board (guojia yunshu anquan diaocha weiyuanhui zuzhifa 國家運輸安全調查委員會組織法) was approved by the ROC Legislative Yuan on April 2, 2019. Please note that the ASC was sometimes confused with the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) under the MOTC.

TTSB chairpersons

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
5/1998—5/2000Weng Cheng-i 翁政義b. 1944Taiwan
5/2000—8/2000 @Wang Shih-sheng 王石生b. 1932N/A
8/2000—5/2004Victor W. Liu 劉維琪b. 1952<Greece>
5/2004—3/2005Yong Kay 戎凱b. 1941Shanghai
4/2005—8/2005 @Weng Cheng-i (second time)
8/2005—5/2010Wu Jing-shown 吳靜雄b. 1942Taiwan
5/2010—8/2015Chang Yu-hern 張有恆b. 1954Taiwan
8/2015—10/2015Jean Shen 沈啟b. 1949N/A
12/2015—4/2018Hwung Hwung-hweng 黃煌煇b. 1946Taiwan
4/2018—6/2018 @Chi Chia-fen 紀佳芬N/AN/A
7/2018—2/2023Young Hong-tsu 楊宏智b. 1955N/A
2/2023— @Iris Yueh-ling Hsu 許悅玲b. 1971N/A

The TTSB has the following subordinate units:

  Aviation Occurrence Investigation Division (hangkong diaochazu 航空調查組),
  Highway Occurrence Investigation Division (gonglu diaochazu 公路調查組),
  Marine Occurrence Investigation Division (shuilu diaochazu 水路調查組),
  Rail Occurrence Investigation Division (tiedao diaochazu 鐵道調查組),
  Research and Engineering Division (yunshu gongchengzu 運輸工程組),
  Safety Analysis Recommendations Division (yunshu anquanzu 運輸安全組);
  Accounting and Statistics Office (zhujishi 主計室),
  Government Ethics Office (zhengfengshi 政風室),
  Personnel Office (renshishi 人事室), and
  Secretariat (mishushi 秘書室).

Furthermore, a National Research Center for Transportation Safety Engineering (guojia yun'an gongcheng yanjiu zhongxin 國家運安工程研究中心) is planned as well as regional offices in Hualien, Kaohsiung and Taichung.

Major air incidents in the Taiwan area and/or involving Taiwanese carriers since WWII

Besides China Airlines (CAL) the following Taiwanese carriers have suffered major plane crashes—Civil Air Transport (minhang kongyun gongsi 民航空運公司, abbrev. CAT), Daily Air (dean hangkong 德安航空), Emerald Pacific Airlines (lingtian hangkong 凌天航空), Far Eastern Air Transport (yuandong hangkong gongsi 遠東航空公司, abbrev. FAT), Formosa Airlines (guohua hangkong 國華航空)—called Yungshing Airlines (yongxing hangkong 永興航空) between 1966 and 1987, TransAsia Airways (Fuxing hangkong gongsi 復興航空公司, abbrev. TNA; English name before 1983—Foshing Airlines, abbrev. FAL), and UNI Air (lirong hangkong 立榮航空). The following is a chronology of major civilian plane crashes.

1958 Oct. 1: A FAL PBY-5A Cataline flying boat known as "Blue Swan" (lan tian'e 藍天鵝) carrying 4 crew members, 3 ROC military personnel and 4 US military personnel vanishes while traveling from Matsu to Taipei, no traces of wreckage or the passengers are ever found; the ROC MND suspects the plane having been shot down by PRC MiG fighter planes
1964 June 20: A Curtiss C-46D operated by CAT flying from Taichung's Shui-nan Airport to Taipei's Songshan Airport crashes near Shenkang 神岡 (Taichung County), killing all 57 on board
1968 Feb. 16: A CAT Boeing 727 from Hong Kong to Taipei carrying 63 passengers and crew crashes into mountains near Linkou 林口 (Taipei County), 21 dead
June 3: A Curtiss C-46 Commando carrying an unknown number of people from the ROC Air Force Academy’s airport in Gangshan Township 岡山鎮 (Kaohsiung County) to Taipei crashes near the Jishuei River 急水溪 in Liuying Township 柳營 (Tainan County), no survivors
1969 Feb. 24: A Handley Page HPR-7 Herald 201 operated by FAT flying from Kaohsiung to Taipei crashes at Kuijen 歸仁 (Tainan County), all 36 on board dead
1970 Feb. 21: A FAT Douglas DC-3 cargo plane flying from Taipei to Chiayi crashes shortly after takeoff at Fushou Mountain 福壽山 (Taipei City) near Thumb Mountain 拇指山, killing all 2 on board
Aug. 12: A CAL NAMC YS-11 carrying 31 passengers and crew from Hualien to Taipei crashes onto mountains shortly before landing, 14 dead
1971 Nov. 21: A CAL Caravelle flying from Taipei to Hong Kong is believed to be destroyed by an inflight explosion caused by a bomb; 25 dead
1975 July 31: A FAT Vickers Viscount carrying 75 passengers and crew from Hualien to Taipei crashes during a failed landing attempt, 27 dead
1981 Aug. 22: A FAT Boeing 737 flying from Taipei to Penghu explodes in midair over mountainous terrain near Sanyi 三義 (Miaoli County); 110 dead
1986 Feb. 16: A CAL Boeing 737 from Taipei to Penghu crashes into the sea near Penghu's Magong Airport during a go-around attempt, 13 dead
1988 Jan. 19: A Formosa Airlines BN-2A passenger plane with 11 aboard from Taitung to Lanyu crashes into Lanyu's Chingshe Mountain 青蛇山; 10 dead
1989 Oct. 26: A CAL Boeing 737 from Hualien to Taipei crashes shortly after take-off; 56 dead
1991 Dec. 29: A CAL Boeing 747 cargo plane flying from Chiang Kai-shek international Airport in Taoyuan to Anchorage (Alaska, USA) crashes into mountains near Wanli 萬里 (Taipei County), killing all 5 on board
1993 Nov. 4: A CAL Boeing 747 coming from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport overshoots the runway while landing on Hong Kong's Kai Tak Airport (qide jichang 啟德機場) during typhoon "Ira" and ends up in the water; all 396 people on board are safely evacuated
1994 April 26: A CAL Airbus A300 flying from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport to Nagoya (Japan) crashes during landing due to pilot error; 264 dead
1995 Jan. 30: A TNA ATR 72-200 carrying four crew but no passengers flying from Penghu to Taipei's Songshan Airport crashes in the mountains near Taoyuan, all 4 on board are killed
1998 Feb. 16: A CAL Airbus A300 flying from Denpasar (Indonesia) to Taiwan crash-lands at the International Chiang Kai-shek Airport in Taoyuan; 204 dead
1999 Aug. 22: A CAL MD-11 passenger jet with more than 300 persons on board flying from Bangkok to Hong Kong is thrown on its back by shear winds while landing on Chek Lap Kok Airport (chilajiao jichang 赤鱲角機場); 3 dead
Aug. 24: A McDonnell-Douglas MD-90 operated by UNI Air carrying 96 passengers and crew from Taipei's Songshan Airport to Hualien suffers an explosion after landing, 1 dead
2000 Oct. 31: A Boeing 747 operated by Singapore Airlines scheduled from Singapore's Changi Airport (zhangyi jichang 樟宜機場) to Los Angeles (California, USA) by mistake takes a runway closed for construction for takeoff during typhoon "Xangsane" after a stopover on Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, 83 of the 179 on board are killed
2002 May 25: A CAL Boeing 747 flying from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taoyuan to Hong Kong crashes into the sea near Penghu; 225 dead
Dec. 21: A TNA ATR 72-200 cargo plane from Taoyuan to Macau crashes into the sea southwest of Penghu because of an ice buildup, killing the two pilots
2007 Aug. 20: A CAL Boeing 737 from Taipei to Naha (Okinawa, Japan) bursts into flames moments after landing; 165 passengers and crew narrowly escape the disaster unharmed
2014 July 23: A TNA ATR 72-500 with 58 on board from Kaohsiung crashes on go-around into a residential neighbourhood of Xixi Village 西溪村 (Huxi Township 湖西鄉, Penghu County) after a failed attempt to land at Penghu's Magong Airport during typhoon "Matmo"; 48 dead
2015 Feb. 4: A TNA ATR 72-600 with 58 on board from Taipei's Songshan Airport en route to Kinmen crashes due to pilot error soon after take-off into the Keelung River (Jilonghe 基隆河) after hitting an elevated bridge in the area of Nan'gang; 43 dead
Nov. 22: A Bell 206 jet ranger helicopter operated by Emerald Pacific Airlines sent to clean a buildup of soot on insulators in the Taoyuan area caused by air pollution crashes in Taishan District 泰山區 (New Taipei City, Taiwan), killing the pilot and an electrical worker
2017 April 13: A Daily Air de Havilland Canada DHC6-400 Twin Otter aircraft coming from Taitung carrying 17 passengers and 2 crew overshoots the runway while landing on Orchid Island, four persons are slightly injured
June 10: A Bell-31118 helicopter operated by Emerald Pacific Airlines carrying renowned documentary director Chi Po-lin 齊柏林, his assistant and a pilot crashes one hour after taking off from Taitung in a mountainous area of Fengbin Township 豐濱鄉 (Hualien County) while surveying for locations for the sequel to "Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above" (kanjian Taiwan 看見台灣), all three on board are killed
2020 Jan. 2: A Black Hawk UH-60M helicopter belonging to the Air Force Rescue Group (kongjun jiuhudui 空軍救護隊) carrying 13 military personnel from Songshan Air Force Base 空軍松山基地 in Taipei to a radar station in Dong'ao 東澳 (Yilan county) as part of a pre-Lunar New Year inspection crashes in the mountains of Wulai District (New Taipei City), killing 8, including the Chief of General Staff Shen Yi-ming 沈一鳴

Extended powers

On Nov. 7, 2018 the ASC announced that starting 2019 the ASC would be mandated to also investigate railway, road and marine accidents which in the past were investigated by prosecutors and the MOTC. Under the new practice, the ASC/TTSB will step in if there is a road or railway accident with more than 15 fatalities or a marine accident in which ships are damaged, whether or not there are fatalities.

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Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee (CIPAS)

Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee (CIPAS) 不當黨產處理委員會
5 F., No. 9 Lane 85, Songjiang Road,
Zhongshan District, Taipei City 10486, Taiwan ROC
[10486 台北市中山區松江路 85 巷 9 號 5 樓]
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🌏 CIPAS – Web link

After the Act Governing the Settlement of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (zhengdang ji qi fusui zuzhi budang qude caichan chuli tiaoli 政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例, abbrev. dangchan tiaoli 黨產條例) was passed by the Legislative Yuan on July 25, 2016, the CIPAS (budang dangchan chuli weiyuanhui 不當黨產處理委員會, abbrev. dangchanhui 黨產會, 🏁: zhuren weiyuan 主任委員) was established on Aug. 31, 2016 as an independent ROC government agency, consisting of 11 to 13 members appointed by the ROC premier.

The CIPAS is tasked with investigating, retroactively confiscating and returning or restoring to rightful owners all assets that were improperly obtained by political parties and their affiliated organizations between Aug. 15, 1945—when Japan officially announced its surrender to the Allies, bringing World War II to an end—and the lifting of martial law on July 15, 1987. All parties established before the end of martial law are required to report their party assets to the CIPAS. On June 6, 2019 the CIPAS launched the Party Real Estate Database (zhengdang budongchan chaxun xitong 政黨不動產查詢系統).

CIPAS chairpersons

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
8/2016—9/2017Wellington Koo 顧立雄b. 1958Taiwan
9/2017—Lin Feng-cheng 林峯正b. 1965Taiwan

CIPAS members

In addition to the chairperson, members of the initial CIPAS included full members Shih Chin-fang 施錦芳 (concurrently vice chairperson) and Lo Cheng-chung 羅承宗 as well as part-time members Chang Shih-hsing 張世興, Jao Yueh-chin 饒月琴, Lee Yen-jong 李晏榕, Li Fu-chung 李福鐘, Lin Che-wei 林哲瑋, Wu Yu-hsueh 吳雨學, Yang Wei-chung 楊偉中, and Yuan Hsiu-hui 袁秀慧. Following Yang Wei-chung’s death, Shen Po-yang 沈伯洋 was named as replacement on Oct. 14, 2018, and Hsu Yu-wei 許有為 took over Lo Cheng-chung’s position.

On Aug. 27, 2020 the Executive Yuan announced the following CIPAS member list for a 4-year tenure starting on Sept. 1, 2020: vice chairperson Sun Pin 孫斌, full members Hsu Yu-wei (retained), Lin Tsong-shyan 林聰賢 (new), retained part-time members Chang Shih-hsing, Jao Yueh-chin, Li Fu-chung, Wu Yu-hsueh, and new part-time members Cheng Ya-fang 鄭雅方, Lai Ying-chen 賴瑩真, Lin Shih-mei 林詩梅.

Legal battle

After the CIPAS started operating, the main focus of its work has been the KMT and its affiliate organizations, which in turn prompted the KMT to initiate counter-measures. On Sept. 21, 2016 the CIPAS froze a KMT bank account over the issuance of 10 checks worth a collective NT$ 520 million, and on Nov. 1, 2016 the CIPAS announced that it had identified the Central Investment Co. (zhongyang touzi gongsi 中央投資公司) and Hsinyutai Co. (xinyutai gongsi 欣裕台公司) being KMT affiliates, prohibiting the two companies from disposing of their assets. On Nov. 18, 2016 the KMT, the Central Investment Co. and Hsinyutai Co. filed cases asking the Taipei High Administrative Court to revoke the CIPAS's finding. In its ruling of June 11, 2018 the court questioned the constitutionality of the Act Governing the Handling of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations, requesting a constitutional interpretation from the Council of Grand Justices. The CIPAS appealed to Supreme Administrative Court which on Aug. 2, 2018 ordered a constitutional interpretation to proceed. On Nov. 5, 2018 the Taipei High Administrative Court reiterated that all legal proceedings were to be halted until the Council of Grand Justices announced its interpretation of the law in question. On Aug. 28, 2020 the grand justices issued their Constitutional Interpretation No. 793 (shizi di qibai jiushisan hao jieshi 釋字第 793 號解釋), declaring that the provisions of the Act Governing the Settlement of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations were constitutional (hexian 合憲).

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International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF)

International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) 國際合作發展基金會
12-15 F., No. 9 Lane 62, Tianmu West Road,
Shilin District, Taipei City 11157, Taiwan ROC
[11157 台北市士林區天母西路 62 巷 9 號 12-15 樓]
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🌏 ICDF – Web link

After formal diplomatic relations between the ROC and most states were cut since the 1970s, the ROC's foreign policy has increasingly been focussing on fostering friendly ties with non-diplomatic allies. The aspect of technical aid and humanitarian assistance for developing nations has hence gained significance.

The ROC had sent its first agricultural mission to Vietnam as early as 1959. Since October 1961 technical missions were dispatched under the "Operation Vanguard" (xianfeng an zhixing xiaozu 先鋒案執行小組) to boost agricultural production in many newly independent African nations. On April 11, 1962 the Operation Vanguard task force was expanded to become the Sino-Africa Technical cooperation Committee (Zhong Fei jishu hezuo weiyuanhui 中非技術合作委員會, abbrev. SATCC); ten years later SATCC was incorporated into the Committee of International Technical Cooperation (haiwai jishu hezuo weiyuanhui 海外技術合作委員會, abbrev. haiwaihui 海外會 in Chinese and CITC in English). In October 1989, the ROC government established the International Economic Cooperation Development Fund (haiwai jingji hezuo fazhan jijin guanli weiyuanhui 海外經濟合作發展基金管理委員會, abbrev. haihehui 海合會 in Chinese and IECDF in English) which on July 1, 1996 was replaced by the International Cooperation and Development Fund (guoji hezuo fazhan jijinhui 國際合作發展基金會, abbrev. guohehui 國合會 in Chinese and ICDF or TaiwanICDF in English).

ICDF is formally an independent organization implementing government-funded foreign aid programs. It is nominally headed by the sitting ROC FM with the official title of chairman (dongshizhang 董事長), but the secretary-general (mishuzhang 秘書長) is in charge of ICDF's day-to-day business.

TaiwanICDF secretary-generals

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
8/1996—8/2001Loh Ping-cheung 羅平章b. 1937Jiangsu
8/2001—2004Yang Tzu-pao 楊子葆b. 1963Taiwan
2004—12/2007Chen Cheng-chung 陳正忠1955-2010N/A
2008–2010Chen Lien-gen 陳連軍b. 1950Sichuan
2/2010—6/2014Tao Wen-lung 陶文隆N/AN/A
6/2014—Timothy T. Y. Hsiang 項恬毅b. 1958Taiwan

TaiwanICDF is led by a Board of Directors (dongshihui 董事會) and has the following subdivisions:

  Consultative Committee (zixun weiyuanhui 諮詢委員會);
  General Affairs Department (mishuchu 秘書處),
  Humanitarian Assistance Department (rendao yuanzhuchu 人道援助處),
  International Education and Training Department (guoji jiaoyu xunlianchu 國際教育訓練處),
  Lending and Investment Department (tou rong zi chu 投融資處),
  Technical Cooperation Department (jishu hezuochu 技術合作處);
  Accounting Office (kuaijishi 會計室),
  Auditing Office (jiheshi 稽核室),
  Financial Affairs Office (caiwushi 財務室),
  Human Resource Office (renli ziyuanshi 人力資源室),
  Legal Affairs Office (fawushi 法務室),
  Public Relations Office (gongguanshi 公關室), and
  Research, Development and Evaluation Office (yanjiu fazhan kaoheshi 研究發展考核室).

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Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (CTOC)

Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee 中華奧林匹克運動會
No. 20 Zhulun Street,
Zhongshan District, Taipei City 10489, Taiwan ROC
[10489 台北市中山區朱崙街 20 號]
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🌏 Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee – Web link

Before the establishment of the first Chinese Olympic Committee (Zhongguo aolinpike yundonghui 中國奧林匹克運動會, abbrev. Zhongguo aohui 中國奧會) in 1931, sports affairs and Olympic issues in particular were handled by the China National Amateur Athletic Federation (Zhonghua yeyu yundong lianhehui 中華業餘運動聯合會) which had been founded on April 3, 1922 and renamed to All-China Sports Federation (Zhonghua quanguo tiyu xiejinhui 中華全國體育協進會) on Aug. 24, 1924. Sources available online list Chang Po-ling 張伯苓 (1876-1951, Tianjin), Thomas Wang 王正廷 (1882-1961, Zhejiang), and Hoh Gunsun 郝更生 (1899-1976, Jiangsu) as the three chief executives between 1924 and 1955. It continued to exist as a separate entity after the establishment of the Taiwan's Olympic committee, using the moniker "ROC Sports Federation" (Zhonghua minguo tiyu yundong zonghui 中華民國體育運動總會, abbrev. ROCSF) since 1989.

CTOC presidents

Tenure (started) Name Born/Died Native Province
1956—Chow Chih-jou 周至柔1899-1986Zhejiang
1957—Teng Chuan-kai 鄧傳楷1912-1999Jiangsu
2/1961—6/1973Yang Sen 楊森1884-1977Sichuan
7/1973—5/1974Henry Hsu 徐亨1912-2009Guangdong
5/1974—9/1982 Shen Chia-minh 沈家銘1916-1982Zhejiang
12/1982—9/1987Cheng Wei-yuan 鄭為元1913-1993Anhui
9/1987—1/1998Chang Feng-shu 張豐緒1928-2014Taiwan
1/1998—1/2006Huang Ta-chou 黃大洲b. 1936Taiwan
1/2006—12/2013Thomas W. Tsai 蔡辰威b. 1952Taiwan
12/2013—Lin Hong-dow 林鴻道b. N/AN/A

Bitter name games

The difficult relations between the ROC and the PRC are reflected in the participation in the Olympics, and the cross-strait conflict has overshadowed the Olympic spirit of harmony and friendship for decades. In 1952, the ROC Olympic team withdrew in protest from the Summer Games in Helsinki because athletes from the PRC were allowed to compete; however, the PRC athletes were delayed and arrived only 10 days after the games began. The PRC boycotted the 1956 Summer Games in Melbourne because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed the ROC to compete under the name "Formosa". From 1960 to 1972, the ROC participated at the Olympics under three different official names. Both the ROC and the PRC boycotted the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal over issues concerning the legitimacy of each other, and they were absent from the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow as well—the PRC due to the Sino-Soviet conflict which arose at the end of the 1950s, and the ROC because of the Cold War.

Following the ROC's loss of its seat in the United Nations (UN) in October 1971, the ROC's national sports associations were reorganized by the ROC government in 1973. After the Nagoya Resolution was adopted on Oct. 25, 1979, the IOC recognized the PRC as China's sole legal representative on Nov. 26, 1979, and the IOC and ROC representative Shen Chia-minh 沈家銘 on March 23, 1981 signed an agreement in Lausanne (Switzerland) concerning Taiwan's participation in Olympic Games. Accordingly, Taiwan's Olympic committee has since been obliged to use the name "Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee" (Zhonghua aolinpike weiyuanhui 中華奧林匹克委員會, abbrev. Zhonghua aohui 中華奧會 in Chinese and CTOC in English; 🏁—zhuxi 主席). Since 1984, the PRC has been participating at the Olympic Summer Games as "China" (Zhongguo 中國), and the ROC/Taiwan has been doing so as "Chinese Taipei" (Zhonghua Taibei 中華台北).

Concerning the name issue, there is no end in sight for the ongoing controversy. On May 19, 2018 the CTOC reported that the IOC had ruled out the possibility of a name change from "Chinese Taipei" to "Taiwan" for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The disagreement reached a new level when the PRC authorities in 2021 began using Zhongguo Taibei (中國台北)—literally "China Taipei"—as Chinese translation for "Chinese Taipei" instead of Zhonghua Taibei (中華台北). Since there is no official Chinese-language version of the Nagoya Resolution, technically both sides have the right to interpret the resolution as they see fit, but the PRC move clearly shows no inclination for compromise but the determination to escalate the conflict even further.

According to IOC regulations which were adopted under pressure from the Chinese Communists, Taiwanese athletes are not allowed to compete under the name "ROC" or "Taiwan" anymore. Furthermore, the ROC national flag has been banned at Olympic events and venues, the ROC team is instead being forced to use a specially designed Chinese Taipei Olympic flag (shown on the right). Likewise, the ROC national anthem cannot be played to honour Taiwanese athletes who won an Olympic medal for their country.

Olympic medals for Taiwan/ROC

The table below shows the number of medals won by athletes competing for the ROC/Taiwan in Olympic Summer Games. China's debut as participant in the Summer Olympics occurred in 1932 when the ROC sent one athlete to Los Angeles: Liu Changchun 劉長春 (1909-1983) took part in the track & field 100 m preliminary on July 31, 1932 but failed to get a place in the Final of Men's 100 m.

Year Games No. Host city Team's official name Gold Silver Bronze Total
1932 X Los Angeles Republic of China 0 0 0 0
1936 XI Berlin  " 0 0 0 0
1948 XIV London  " 0 0 0 0
1952 XV Helsinki
1956 XVI Melbourne Formosa–China 0 0 0 0
1960 XVII Rome Formosa 0 1 0 1
1964 XVIII Tokyo 東京 Taiwan 0 0 0 0
1968 XIX Mexico City  " 0 0 1 1
1972 XX Munich Republic of China 0 0 0 0
1976 XXI Montreal
1980 XXII Moscow
1984 XXIII Los Angeles "Chinese Taipei" 0 0 1 1
1988 XXIV Seoul 首爾  " 0 0 0 0
1992 XXV Barcelona  " 0 1 0 1
1996 XXVI Atlanta  " 0 1 0 1
2000 XXVII Sydney  " 0 1 4 5
2004 XXVIII Athens  " 2 2 1 5
2008 XXIX Beijing 北京  " 1 1 2 4
2012 XXX London  " 1 0 1 2
2016 XXXI Rio de Janeiro  " 1 0 2 3
2020XXXIITokyo  " 2 4 6 12
Sum of medals 7 11 18 36

The 2020 Summer Olympics were originally scheduled to take place between July 24 and Aug. 9, 2020 but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic to July 23—Aug. 8, 2021.

Athletes from the ROC/Taiwan participated in the Winter Olympics since the XI. Olympic Winter Games in Sapporo 1972 but so far failed to win any medals.

Olympic medals timeline (summer games)

Year, date Name(s), year of birth and death Medal, sport, event
——— Rome 1960 ———
1960, Sept. 6 Maysang Kalimud (1933-2007) 🥈—Athletics, men's decathlon
——— Mexico City 1968 ———
1968, Oct. 19 Chi Cheng 紀政 (b. 1944) 🥉—Athletics, women's 80 m hurdles
——— Los Angeles 1984 ———
1984, July 31 Tsai Wen-yee 蔡溫義 (b. 1956) 🥉—Weightlifting, men's featherweight (56-60 kg)
——— Barcelona 1992 ———
1992, Aug. 5  [Names see below] 🥈—Baseball, men's competition
——— Atlanta 1996 ———
1996, July 31 Chen Jing 陳靜 (b. 1968) 🥈—Table tennis, women's singles
——— Sydney 2000 ———
2000, Sept. 18 Li Feng-ying 黎鋒英 (b. 1975) 🥈—Weightlifting, women's 53 kg
~ Sept. 20 Kuo Yi-hang 郭羿含 (b. 1975) 🥉—Weightlifting, women's 75 kg
~ Sept. 24 Chen Jing 陳靜 (b. 1968) 🥉—Table tennis, women's singles
~ Sept. 27 Huang Chih-hsiung 黃志雄 (b. 1976) 🥉—Taekwondo, men's 58 kg
Chi Shu-ju 紀淑如 (b. 1982) 🥉—Taekwondo, women's 49 kg
——— Athens 2004 ———
2004, Aug. 20 Chen Li-ju 陳麗如 (b. 1981), Wu Hui-ju 吳蕙如 (b. 1982), Yuan Shu-chi 袁叔琪 (b. 1984) 🥉—Archery, women's team
~ Aug. 21 Chen Szu-yuan 陳詩園 (b. 1981), Liu Ming-huang 劉明煌 (b. 1984), Wang Cheng-pang 王正邦 (b. 1987) 🥈—Archery, men's team
~ Aug. 26 Selena Chen 陳詩欣 (b. 1978) 🥇—Taekwondo, women's 49 kg
Chu Mu-yen 朱木炎 (b. 1982) 🥇—Taekwondo, men's –58 kg
~ Aug. 27 Huang Chih-hsiung 黃志雄 (b. 1976) 🥈—Taekwondo, men's 68 kg
——— Beijing 2008 ———
2008, Aug. 9 Chen Wei-ling 陳葦綾 (b. 1982) 🥇 ↑—Weightlifting, women's 48 kg
~ Aug. 12 Lu Ying-chi 盧映錡 (b. 1985) 🥈 ↑—Weightlifting, women's 63 kg
~ Aug. 20 Chu Mu-yen 朱木炎 (b. 1982) 🥉—Taekwondo, men's –58 kg
~ Aug. 21 Sung Yu-chi 宋玉麒 (b. 1982) 🥉—Taekwondo, men's 68 kg
——— London 2012 ———
2012, July 29 Hsu Shu-ching 許淑淨 (b. 1991) 🥇 ↑—Weightlifting, women's 53 kg
~ Aug. 9 Tseng Li-cheng 曾櫟騁 (b. 1986) 🥉—Taekwondo, women's 57 kg
——— Rio de Janeiro 2016 ———
2016, Aug. 7 Hsu Shu-ching 許淑淨 (b. 1991) 🥇—Weightlifting, women's 53 kg
Le Chien-ying 雷千瑩 (b. 1990), Lin Shih-chia 林詩嘉 (b. 1993), Tan Ya-ting 譚雅婷 (b. 1993) 🥉—Archery, women's team
~ Aug. 8 Kuo Hsing-chun 郭婞淳 (b. 1993) 🥉—Weightlifting, women's 58 kg
——— Tokyo 2020 ———
2021, July 24 Yang Yung-wei 楊勇緯 (b. 1997) 🥈—Judo, men’s extra lightweight (–60 kg)
~ July 25 Lo Chia-ling 羅嘉翎 (b. 2001) 🥉—Taekwondo, women's 57 kg
~ July 26 Deng Yu-cheng 鄧宇成 (b. 1999), Tang Chih-chun 湯智鈞 (b. 2001), Wei Chun-heng 魏均珩 (b. 1994) 🥈—Archery, men’s team
Cheng I-ching 鄭怡靜 (b. 1992), Lin Yun-ju 林昀儒 (b. 2001, ♂) 🥉—Table tennis, mixed doubles
~ July 27 Kuo Hsing-chun 郭婞淳 (b. 1993) 🥇—Weightlifting, women's 59 kg
Chen Wen-huei 陳玟卉 (b. 1997) 🥉—Weightlifting, women's 64 kg
~ July 31 Lee Yang 李洋 (b. 1995), Wang Chi-lin 王齊麟 (b. 1995) 🥇—Badminton, men's doubles
~ Aug. 1 Pan Cheng-tsung 潘政琮 (b. 1991) 🥉—Golf, men's individual
Lee Chih-kai 李智凱 (b. 1996) 🥈—Gymnastics, men's pommel horse
Tai Tzu-ying 戴資穎 (b. 1994) 🥈—Badminton, women's singles
~ Aug. 4 Huang Hsiao-wen 黃筱雯 (b. 1997) 🥉—Boxing, women's flyweight
~ Aug. 5 Wen Tzu-yun 文姿云 (b. 1993) 🥉—Karate, women's 55 kg

Please note that in the table above, "🥇" stands for gold medal (jinpai 金牌), "🥈" for silver medal (yinpai 銀牌) and "🥉" for bronze medal (tongpai 銅牌); an upward arrow [↑] behind the medal indicates that the original medal was upgraded after the conclusion of the games (see details below).

Maysang Kalimud—also known under the Chinese name Yang Chuan-kwang 楊傳廣 and nicknamed "Iron Man of Asia" (Yazhou tieren 亞洲鐵人)—was a member of Taiwan's indigenous Amis tribe, and Kuo Hsing-chun (an Amis as well) is also known under her tribal name Tana.

The 1992 men's baseball team: Chang Cheng-hsien 張正憲 (b. 1967), Chang Wen-chung 張文宗 (b. 1968), Chang Yaw-teing 張耀騰 (b. 1965), Chen Chi-hsin 陳執信 (b. 1962), Chen Wei-chen 陳威成 (b. 1966), Chiang Tai-chuan 江泰權 (b. 1960), Huang Chung-yi 黃忠義 (b. 1967), Huang Wen-po 黃文博 (b. 1971), Jong Yeu-jeng 鍾宇政 (b. 1973), Ku Kuo-chian 古國謙 (b. 1968), Kuo Lee Chien-fu 郭李建夫 (b. 1969), Liao Ming-hsiung 廖敏雄 (b. 1968), Lin Chao-huang 林朝煌 (b. 1969), Lin Kun-han 林琨瀚 (b. 1968), Lo Chen-jung 羅振榮 (b. 1961), Lo Kuo-chong 羅國璋 (b. 1965), Pai Kun-hong 白昆弘 (b. 1970), Tsai Ming-hung 蔡明宏 (b. 1966), Wang Kuang-shih 王光熙 (b. 1967), and Wu Shih-hsih 吳思賢 (b. 1963).

UPGRADED MEDALS FOR CHINESE TAIPEI
Beijing 2008
 [1] Female weightlifter Chen Wei-ling who had originally won bronze on Aug. 9, 2008 was officially promoted first to silver when previous silver medalist Sibel Ozkan (Turkey) was disqualified on July 21, 2016 after failing in a doping re-test, and then to gold after the previous gold medalist Chen Xiexia 陳燮霞 (PRC) was disqualified on Jan. 12, 2017 by the IOC Disciplinary Commission, according to the international Weightlifting Federation (IWF), as reported by CNA's Focus Taiwan on March 5, 2017.
 [2] Female weightlifter Lu Ying-chi who also had won bronze (on Aug. 12, 2008) had her medal upgraded to silver after the IOC disqualified previous silver medalist Irina Nekrassova (Kazakhstan) from the games on Nov. 17, 2016 for failing a drugs test in a re-analysis of her doping sample from 2008.
London 2012
 Female weightlifter Hsu Shu-ching had originally won silver on July 29, 2012 but was officially promoted to gold on Nov. 19, 2016 after the previous gold medalist Zulfiya Chinshanlo aka Zhao Changling 趙常玲 (Kazakhstan) failed a doping test following the games and was stripped of her medal by the IOC on Oct. 27, 2016.

Chinese Taipei at the Paralympics

Taiwan has been sending teams to the Summer Paralympics since 1992 but never so far to the Winter Paralympics.
Please note that the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics were originally scheduled to take place Aug. 21 to Sept. 6, 2020 but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic to Aug. 24—Sept. 5, 2021.

— — — "Chinese Taipei" Paralympic flag — — —

The following table shows the paralympic medals won by athletes competing for Chinese Taipei since 1992.

Year Games No. Host city Number of athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total
1992 IX Barcelona 11 0 0 1 1
1996 X Atlanta 14 1 0 2 3
2000 XI Sydney 25 1 2 4 7
2004 XII Athens 18 2 2 2 6
2008 XIII Beijing 北京 17 1 0 1 2
2012 XIV London 18 0 1 2 3
2016 XV Rio de Janeiro 13 0 1 1 2
2020XVITokyo 東京 10 0 0 1 1
Sum of medals 5 6 14 25

World University Games

The largest multi-sport event in the world apart from the Olympics is the Universiade. Teams comprising athletes from Taiwan/the ROC have been competing since 1987 (summer games) and 2005 (winter games) under the official name "Chinese Taipei".

Because the International University Sports Federation (Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire, abbrev. FISU) which organizes the Universiade is obliged to conform with IOC's Olympic movement rules, the Taiwanese team is not allowed to use the ROC national flag as in the regular Olympics but has been forced to use a flag of special design (shown on the right).

Summer Universiades

Year Games No. Host city / region Gold Silver Bronze Total
1987  XIV Zagreb 0 0 0 0
1989 XV Duisburg 0 0 0 0
1991 XVI Sheffield 1 0 0 1
1993 XVII Buffalo 0 0 3 3
1995 XVIII Fukuoka 福岡 1 1 2 4
1997 XIX Sicily 2 1 1 4
1999 XX Palma de Mallorca  2 2 0 4
2001 XXI Beijing 北京 0 3 5 8
2003 XXII Daegu 大邱 3 3 5 11
2005 XXIII Izmir 6 2 4 12
2007 XXIV Bangkok 7 9 13 29
2009 XXV Belgrade 7 5 5 17
2011 XXVI Shenzhen 深圳 7 9 16 32
2013 XXVII Kazan 4 4 7 15
2015 XXVIII Gwangju 光州 6 12 18 36
2017 XXIX Taipei 台北 26 34 30 90
2019 XXX Naples 9 13 10 32
2021 XXXI Chengdu 成都 N/A N/A N/A N/A
 Sum of medals 81 98 119 298

The 2021 Summer Universiade was scheduled to take place July 8–19, 2021 but was postponed on April 2, 2021 for one year to due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2021, FISU confirmed that the games had been rescheduled for June 2022. On May 6, 2022, FISU announced that the 2021 Summer Universiade had been postponed again to July 28—Aug. 8, 2023.

Winter Universiades

Year Games No. Host city / cities Gold Silver Bronze Total
2005  XXII Innsbruck 0 0 0 0
2007 XXIII Turin 0 0 0 0
2009 XXIV Harbin 哈爾濱 0 0 0 0
2011 XXV Erzurum 0 0 0 0
2013 XXVI Trentino 0 0 1 1
2015 XXVII Štrbské Pleso + Osrblie / Granada 
2017 XXVIII Almaty 0 0 0 0
2019 XXIX Krasnoyarsk
2021 XXX Lucerne  (Games were cancelled due to COVID-19) 
 Sum of medals 0 0 1 1

The only Winter Games medal either at the Olympics or the Universiades ever won by an athlete competing for the team Chinese Taipei so far was a bronze in the Winter Universiade Trentino 2013 when Sung Ching-yang 宋青陽 (b. 1992) aka Drangadrang—a member of the Paiwan indigenous people—finished third in the men’s speed skating 1,000 m event which took place on Dec. 17, 2013.

The 2021 Winter Universiade was scheduled to take place Dec. 11–21 that year but the games were postponed indefinitely on Aug. 31, 2020 due to COVID-19. On Nov. 29, 2021 it was announced that the 2021 Winter Universiade had been cancelled due to travel restrictions imposed by the Swiss government to prevent the spread of Omicron variant.

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◆ Handling of the Cross-Strait relations


Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF)

Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) 海峽交流基金會
No. 536 Beian Road,
Zhongshan District, Taipei City 10465, Taiwan ROC
[10465 台北市中山區北安路 536 號]
————————————
🌏 SEF – Web link

The semi-official SEF (haixia jiaoliu jijinhui 海峽交流基金會, abbrev. haijihui 海基會, 🏁—dongshizhang 董事長) was established on Nov. 21, 1990. It is not an agency under the ROC Executive Yuan but technically a private foundation, and it is authorized by the ROC government to handle direct contact with agencies of the PRC on mainland China. Since the SEF's establishment, in most cases its secretary-general (mishuzhang 秘書長) concurrently has also held the post of deputy chairman (fu dongshizhang 副董事長).

Please note that the official ROC cabinet-level agency tasked with affairs concerning the PRC is the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), its PRC counterpart being the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO).

SEF chairpersons

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
11/1990—1/2005 Koo Chen-fu 辜振甫1917-2005Taiwan
1/2005—5/2007Chang Chun-hsiung 張俊雄b. 1938Taiwan
5/2007—7/2007 @Michael Y. You 游盈隆b. 1956Taiwan
7/2007—5/2008Hong Chi-chang 洪奇昌b. 1951Taiwan
5/2008—9/2012Chiang Pin-kung 江丙坤1932-2018Taiwan
9/2012—5/2016Lin Join-sane 林中森b. 1944Taiwan
5/2016—8/2016 @Chen Ter-shing 陳德新N/AFujian
9/2016—3/2018Tien Hung-mao 田弘茂b. 1938Taiwan
3/2018—5/2020Katherine Chang 張小月b. 1953Taiwan
5/2020—8/2020David Lee Ta-wei 李大維b. 1949Taiwan
8/2020—1/2023 @Rock Hsu 許勝雄b. 1943Taiwan
1/2023—David Lee Ta-wei (second time)

SEF secretary-generals

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
1990–1992Chen Charng-ven 陳長文b. 1944Yunnan/Fujian
1992—3/1993Chen Jung-chieh 陳榮傑b. 1943Taiwan
3/1993—12/1993Cheyne J. Y. Chiu 邱進益b. 1936Jiangsu
12/1993—1998Chiao Jen-ho 焦仁和b. 1948Zhejiang
1998–2004Shi Hwei-yow 許惠祐b. 1952Taiwan
2004–2005Liu Te-hsun 劉德勳b. 1952Taiwan
2005—5/2008Michael Y. You 游盈隆b. 1956Taiwan
5/2008—2/2014Kao Koong-lian 高孔廉b. 1944Fujian
2/2014—8/2014Vincent Chang Hsien-yao 張顯耀b. 1963N/A
8/2014—5/2016Shih Hui-fen 施惠芬N/AN/A
5/2016—9/2016 @Chen Rong-yuan 陳榮元N/AN/A
9/2016—12/2016Chang Tien-chin 張天欽N/AN/A
1/2017—6/2018Ko Cheng-heng 柯承亨b. 1962N/A
6/2018—6/2020Yao Jen-to 姚人多b. 1969Taiwan/Zhejiang
6/2020—8/2020 @Tsai Meng-chun 蔡孟君N/AN/A
8/2020—Jan Jyh-horng 詹志宏b. 1956Taiwan

The subdivisions of SEF include the following units:

  Board of Directors (dongshihui 董事會);
  Department of Cultural Affairs (wenjiaochu 文教處),
  Department of Economic Affairs (jingmaochu 經貿處),
  Department of Legal Affairs (falüchu 法律處),
  Department of Planning and Public Affairs (zonghechu 綜合處),
  Secretariat (mishuchu 秘書處);
  Accounting Office (kuaijishi 會計室), and
  Personnel Office (renshishi 人事室).

* * * SEE ALSO * * *

More relevant contents pertaining to that subject can be found on the following pages of this website.

🔴 "Ministries and cabinet agencies", Mainland Affairs Council (MAC)
🔴 "Introduction Taiwan/ROC", Cross-Strait relations since the late 1970s
🔴 "Foreign relations of the ROC", ROC vs. PRC since the 1970s

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The counterpart of the SEF in the PRC: ARATS

Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) 海峽兩岸關係協會
No. 6-1 Guang'anmen South Street,
Xicheng District, Beijing 100053, China (PRC)
[100053 北京市西城区广安门南街 6-1 号]
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🌏 ARATS – Web link

The PRC counterpart of SEF is the Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait (haixia liang'an guanxi xiehui 海峽兩岸關係協會, abbrev. haixiehui 海協會 in Chinese and ARATS in English; 🏁—huizhang 會長) which was set up on Dec. 16, 1991 in Beijing. Please note that ARATS and the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) are located at the same address in Beijing.

The ARATS leadership since its establishment has been as follows.

ARATS chairpersons

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
12/1991—12/2005 Wang Daohan 汪道涵 1915-2005 Anhui
6/2008—4/2013 Chen Yunlin 陳雲林 b. 1941 Liaoning
4/2013—4/2018 Chen Deming 陳德銘 b. 1949 Shanghai
4/2018— Zhang Zhijun 張志軍 b. 1953 Jiangsu

ARATS secretary-generals

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
12/1991—4/1994 Zou Zhekai 鄒哲開 1946-2011 Fujian
1995–2000 Zhang Jincheng 張金成 b. 1939 Hebei
7/2000—4/2013 Li Yafei 李亞飛 b. 1955 Hebei
4/2013—7/2016 Yang Liuchang 楊流昌 b. 1962 Fujian
7/2016— Ma Guoliang 馬國樑 b. N/A N/A

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Development of SEF–ARATS interaction

The opening of direct Cross-Strait talks

Between 1992 and 1999 non-committal meetings between SEF and ARATS representatives were arranged occasionally. At the time, those activities were meaningful as a gesture of rapprochement and received extensive media coverage, but they yielded little real progress, if any. In particular, talks held in 1992 between SEF and ARATS delegates in Hong Kong were a complete failure and ended fruitless. The so-called "1992 Consensus" (jiuer gongshi 九二共識) which suggested that the two sides agreed on the concept of "one China, with each side having its own Interpretation" (yige Zhongguo, ge zi biaoshu 一個中國,各自表述, abbrev. yi Zhong gebiao 一中各表) was a fiction as no such understanding was reached then. (On Feb. 21, 2006 KMT politician and former MAC head Su Chi 蘇起 admitted that the term "1992 Consensus" was invented by him in 2000.) On the other hand, one noteworthy exception was the 1993 SEF–ARATS summit between Koo Chen-fu and Wang Daohan in Singapore. On the last day of that meeting the following four agreements were signed:

  • Agreement on Document Authentication between the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (liang'an gongzhengshu chazheng xieyi 兩岸公證書查證協議),
  • Agreement on the Tracing of and Compensation for Lost Registered Mail between the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (liang'an guahao hanjian chaxun buchang shiyi xieyi 兩岸掛號函件查詢補償事宜協議),
  • Agreement on the Establishment of Systematic Liaison and Communication Channels between the SEF and the ARATS (lianghui lianxi yu huitan zhidu xieyi 兩會聯繫與會談制度協議), and
  • Koo–Wang Talks Joint Accord (Gu Wang huitan gongtong xieyi 辜汪會談共同協議).

The PRC temporarily suspended bilateral talks as a punitive measure after ROC President Lee Teng-hui's private trip to the US in June 1995 and around the first direct ROC presidential election in March 1996, and again after Lee Teng-hui's remarks describing the relationship between the ROC and the PRC as "special state-to-state relations" in July 1999. The following list shows the SEF–ARATS meetings which took place between 1992 and 1999.

Year Date(s) Venue SEF representative ARATS representative
1992 March 22–27 Beijing Shi Hwei-yow 許惠祐 Li Yafei 李亞飛
Oct. 28–30 Hong Kong  " Zhou Ning 周寧
1993 March 25–28 Beijing  " Li Yafei
April 4–11  " Cheyne Chiu 邱進益 Tang Shubei 唐樹備
April 23–26 Singapore  "  "
April 27–29  " Koo Chen-fu 辜振甫 Wang Daohan 汪道涵
Aug. 28—Sept. 3 Beijing Shi Hwei-yow Sun Yafu 孫亞夫
Nov. 2–7 Xiamen  "  "
Dec. 18–22 Taipei  "  "
1994 Jan. 31—Feb. 5 Beijing Chiao Jen-ho 焦仁和 Tang Shubei
March 24–31  " Shi Hwei-yow Sun Yafu
July 30—Aug. 3 Taipei  "  "
Aug. 4–7  " Chiao Jen-ho Tang Shubei
Nov. 21–28 Nanjing Shi Hwei-yow Sun Yafu
1995 Jan. 21–28 Taipei Chiao Jen-ho Tang Shubei
Jan. 23–25 Beijing Shi Hwei-yow Sun Yafu
May 27–29 Taipei Chiao Jen-ho Tang Shubei
1997 May 2 Hong Kong Chang Liang-jen 張良任 Zhao Shiguang 趙世光
May 24 Taipei  "  "
1998 April 22–24 Beijing Jan Jyh-horng 詹志宏 Li Yafei
July 26 Taipei  "  "
Sept. 22–24 Beijing Shi Hwei-yow Zhang Jincheng 張金成
Oct. 14–18 Shanghai Koo Chen-fu Wang Daohan
1999 March 17–19 Taipei Jan Jyh-horng Li Yafei
June 27–29 Beijing  "  "

Icy silence

During the 2000–2008 presidency of Chen Shui-bian no meetings between SEF and ARATS were held because the PRC refused any contacts as long as Taiwan was run by the pro-independence DPP. Nevertheless three important events marked clear progress in cross-strait relations during those eight years (see timeline below).

2001  Jan. 1: The Three Mini Links (xiao santong 小三通) aka Three Small Links—direct trade, postal, and transportation links from Kinmen and Matsu in the ROC to Xiamen 廈門 and Fuzhou 福州 in the PRC's Fujian province—are opened
2003 Jan. 26: A CAL passenger plane lands at Shanghai's Pudong Airport (Pudong jichang 浦東機場) at the end of a historic indirect charter flight across the Taiwan Strait (including a stopover in Hong Kong)
2005 Jan. 15: Representatives from the ROC's CAA and the PRC's Civil Aeronautics Administration (minhang zongju 民航總局) reach an agreement in Macau 澳門 about 48 direct non-stop charter flights between the two sides during the Lunar New Year season (Jan. 29 to Feb. 20), including the airports of Taoyuan, Kaohsiung and Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou with the flights passing through Hong Kong's airspace without stopover requirement

Dialogue resumed

After the KMT returned to power in 2008, cross-strait relations improved significantly. During the 2008–2016 presidency of Ma Ying-jeou eleven rounds of negotiations between SEF and ARATS took place, and a total of 23 agreements were inked. The talks at the first eight rounds were conducted by SEF's Chiang Pin-kung and ARATS Chairman Chen Yunlin and were therefore dubbed "Chiang-Chen Talks" (Jiang Chen huitan 江陳會談). At the following three rounds SEF's Lin Join-sane and ARATS's Chen Deming were presiding. As a result, cross-strait interaction intensified, direct flights between many cities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have become common (the historic first direct charter flights took place on July 4, 2008), and tourists from the PRC are now allowed to visit Taiwan in groups or as individuals, just to name a few changes.

Meetings between SEF and ARATS 2008–2015

Round Year Location Result
First 2008 (June 11–14) Beijing 北京 2 agreements signed
Second 2008 (Nov. 3–7) Taipei 台北 4 agreements signed
Third 2009 (April 25–26) Nanjing 南京 3 agreements signed
Fourth 2009 (Dec. 22–24) Taichung 台中 3 agreements signed
Fifth 2010 (June 28–30) Chongqing 重慶 2 agreements signed
Sixth 2010 (Dec. 20–22) Taipei 1 agreement signed
Seventh 2011 (Oct. 19–21) Tianjin 天津 1 agreement signed
Eighth 2012 (Aug. 8–9) Taipei 2 agreements signed
Ninth 2013 (June 20–22) Shanghai 上海 1 agreement signed
Tenth 2014 (Feb. 26–28) Taipei 2 agreements signed
Eleventh 2015 (Aug. 24–26) Fuzhou 福州 2 agreements signed

Agreements signed by SEF and ARATS 2008–2015

  SEF-ARATS Minutes of Talks on Cross-Strait Charter Flights (haixia liang'an baoji huitan jiyao 海峽兩岸包機會談紀要)
  Cross-Strait Agreement Signed Between SEF and ARATS Concerning Mainland Tourists Traveling to Taiwan (haixia liang'an guanyu dalu jumin fu Taiwan lüyou xieyi 海峽兩岸關於大陸居民赴台灣旅遊協議)
  Cross-Strait Air Transport Agreement (haixia liang'an kongyun xieyi 海峽兩岸空運協議)
  Cross-Strait Sea Transport Agreement (haixia liang'an haiyun xieyi 海峽兩岸海運協議)
  Cross-Strait Postal Service Agreement (haixia liang'an youzheng xieyi 海峽兩岸郵政協議)
  Cross-Strait Food Safety Agreement (haixia liang'an shipin anquan xieyi 海峽兩岸食品安全協議)
  Cross-Strait Air Transport Supplementary Agreement (haixia liang'an kongyun buchong xieyi 海峽兩岸空運補充協議)
  Cross-Strait Financial Cooperation Agreement (haixia liang'an jinrong hezuo xieyi 海峽兩岸金融合作協議)
  Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement (haixia liang'an gongtong daji fanzui ji sifa hudong xieyi 海峽兩岸共同打擊犯罪及司法互助協議)
  Cross-Strait Agreement on Cooperation of Agricultural Product Quarantine and Inspection (haixia liang'an nongchanpin jianyi jianyan hezuo xieyi 海峽兩岸農產品檢疫檢驗合作協議)
  Cross-Strait Agreement on Cooperation in Respect of Standards, Metrology, Inspection and Accreditation (haixia liang'an biaozhun jiliang jianyan renzheng hezuo xieyi 海峽兩岸標準計量檢驗認證合作協議)
  Cross-Strait Agreement on Cooperation in Respect of Fishing Crew Affairs (haixia liang'an yuchuan chuanyuan laowu hezuo xieyi 海峽兩岸漁船船員勞務合作協議)
  Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (haixia liang'an jingji hezuo jiagou xieyi 海峽兩岸經濟合作架構協議, abbrev. ECFA)
  Cross-Strait Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights Protection and cooperation (haixia liang'an zhihui caichanquan baohu hezuo xieyi 海峽兩岸智慧財產權保護合作協議)
  Cross-Strait Cooperation Agreement on Medicine and Public Health Affairs (haixia liang'an yiyao weisheng hezuo xieyi 海峽兩岸醫藥衛生合作協議)
  Agreement on Cross-Strait Nuclear Power Safety Cooperation (haixia liang'an hedian anquan hezuo xieyi 海峽兩岸核電安全合作協議)
  Cross-Strait Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (haixia liang'an touzi baozhang han cujin xieyi 海峽兩岸投資保障和促進協議)
  Cross-Strait Customs Cooperation Agreement (haixia liang'an haiguan hezuo xieyi 海峽兩岸海關合作協議)
  Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement (haixia liang'an fuwu maoyi xieyi 海峽兩岸服務貿易協議, abbrev. fumao xieyi 服貿協議 or fumao 服貿 in Chinese and TiSA in English)
  Cross-Strait Seismic Monitoring Cooperation Agreement (haixia liang'an dizhen jiance hezuo xieyi 海峽兩岸地震監測合作協議)
  Cross-Strait Meteorological Cooperation Agreement (haixia liang'an qixiang hezuo xieyi 海峽兩岸氣象合作協議)
  Cross-Strait Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (haixia liang'an bimian shuangchong keshui ji jiaqiang shuiwu hezuo xieyi 海峽兩岸避免雙重課稅及加強稅務合作協議)
  Cross-Strait Flight Safety Agreement (haixia liang'an minhang feihang anquan yu shihang hezuo xieyi 海峽兩岸民航飛航安全與適航合作協議)

Please note that a Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Committee (liang'an jingji hezuo weiyuanhui 兩岸經濟合作委員會, abbrev. jinghehui 經合會 in Chinese and CSECC or ECC in English) was established on Jan. 6, 2011 as a negotiation platform under ECFA.

Icy silence recurred

When ROC President Tsai Ing-wen took office on May 20, 2016, the PRC subsequently suspended regular communication between ARATS and SEF as well as between its Taiwan Affairs Office (guowuyuan Taiwan shiwu bangongshi 國務院台灣事務辦公室, abbrev. guo Tai ban 國台辦 in Chinese and TAO in English) and the ROC counterpart MAC. A telephone hotline which had been set up on Dec. 30, 2015 between the MAC and TAO is also not used anymore. On June 25, 2016 TAO Spokesman An Fengshan 安鋒山 put the blame on the DPP-led ROC government for refusing to recognize the "1992 Consensus". When SEF chairman Tien Hung-mao on Jan. 18, 2017 invited ARATS boss Chen Deming to meet him on Kinmen, ARATS reiterated that cross-strait talks and the mechanism for contact would not be resumed until the SEF, with government authorization, confirmed the "1992 Consensus", otherwise more talks were 'meaningless' in resolving the deadlock. Meanwhile, the ROC government has repeatedly called on Beijing to engage in dialogue and enter into negotiations with Taipei.

Since the beginning of ROC President Tsai Ing-wen’s second term in May 2020 the PRC frequently sent military aircraft into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ, in Chinese: fangkong shibiequ 防空識別區), and these intrusions have been intensifying since the second half of 2021. While these incidents are being monitored in Taiwan and abroad with growing concern, it should be noted that Taiwan’s ADIZ goes beyond its national airspace (in Chinese: lingkong 領空) and partly overlaps with the ADIZs of neighbouring countries. The map on the right shows the Air Defense Identification Zones in East Asia as of October 2021, source: Deutsche Welle (DW).

In her Double Tenth National Day speech on Oct. 10, 2021 ROC President Tsai Ing-wen outlined four commitments (sige jianchi 四個堅持) regarding Cross-Strait relations: "Let us here renew with one another our enduring commitment to a free and democratic constitutional system, our commitment that the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China should not be subordinate to each other, our commitment to resist annexation or encroachment upon our sovereignty, and our commitment that the future of the Republic of China (Taiwan) must be decided in accordance with the will of the Taiwanese people." (所以,我們必須彼此約定,永遠要堅持自由民主的憲政體制,堅持中華民國與中華人民共和國互不隸屬,堅持主權不容侵犯併吞, 堅持中華民國台灣的前途,必須要遵循全體台灣人民的意志。)

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Other major players in the area of Cross-Strait dialogue

SEF and ARATS are not the only entities involved in exchanges between Taiwan and China. Another organization worth mentioning in this context is the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland (quanguo Taiwan tongbao touzi qiye lianyihui 全國台灣同胞投資企業聯誼會, abbrev. Tai qilian 台企聯 in Chinese and ATIEM in English, 🏁—huizhang 會長), established on April 16, 2007 and based in Beijing. ATIEM loosely coordinates the numerous Taiwanese business associations in the PRC and represents the interests of Taiwanese businesspeople operating in the PRC. Furthermore, it reports to the ROC government about the overall situation of Taiwanese businesspeople on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, and it communicates regularly and closely with SEF. Leading ATIEM officials have immediate access to the MAC and other ministries of the ROC central government.

ATIEM chairmen

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
4/2007—4/2010 Chang Han-wen 張漢文 N/A Jiangsu
4/2010—4/2016 Kuo Shan-huei 郭山輝 b. 1955 N/A
4/2016—5/2019 Wang Ping-sheng 王屏生 N/A Taiwan/Anhui
5/2019— Lee Cheng-hung 李政宏 b. 1967 Taiwan

Besides ARATS there are several organizations in the PRC with a focus on Taiwan affairs, more or less controlled by the CCP, including the following (all based in Beijing):

  Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League (Taiwan minzhu zizhi tongmeng 台灣民主自治同盟, abbrev. Taimeng 台盟), established on Nov. 12, 1947 in Hong Kong;
  All China Taiwanese Association (Zhonghua quanguo Taiwan tongbao lianyihui 中華全國台灣同胞聯誼會, abbrev. quanguo Tailian 全國台聯, established on Dec. 27, 1981;
  National Society of Taiwan Studies (quanguo Taiwan yanjiuhui 全國台灣研究會, abbrev. NSTS), established on Aug. 16, 1988 as Society of Taiwan Studies (Taiwan yanjiuhui 台灣研究會);
  China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification (Zhongguo heping tongyi cujinhui 中國和平統一促進會, abbrev. tongcuhui 統促會 or hetonghui 和統會) aka National Association for China’s Peaceful Unification (NACPU), established on Sept. 22, 1988; and
  Subcommittee for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Compatriots and Overseas Chinese of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference [CPPCC] National Committee (Zhongguo renmin zhengzhi xieshang huiyi quanguo weiyuanhui Gang Ao Tai qiao weiyuanhui 中國人民政治協商會議全國委員會港澳臺僑委員會), set up on March 16, 1998.

Furthermore, delegates of Taiwan origin living in the PRC have been elected since 1975 to 'represent' Taiwan in the sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC), being referred to in Chinese as quanguo renmin daibiao dahui Taiwan sheng daibiaotuan 全國人民代表大會台灣省代表團. Since they were not democratically elected by Taiwan's eligible voters, those delegates have no legitimate mandate to speak for the Taiwanese.

The NACPU has been linked to David Wenwei Chou 周文偉 (b. 1953), a Taiwan-born second-generation mainlander and naturalized US citizen with dual nationality who on May 15, 2022 attacked worshippers in the Geneva Presbyterian Church (rineiwa changlaohui jiaotang 日內瓦長老會教堂) in Laguna Woods (Orange County, CA) with two legally purchased handguns. The shooting in the Taiwanese congregation left one dead and 5 wounded, and it was subsequently categorized as hate crime. In the aftermath it was reported that in 2019 Chou had attended the inaugural meeting of the Las Vegas National Association for China’s Peaceful Unification ([Meiguo] Zhongguo heping tongyi cujinhui [美國] 中國和平統一促進會), a local branch of the NACPU, and apparently had harboured anti-Taiwan views for many years.

One noteworthy cross-Strait event is the annual Straits Forum (haixia luntan 海峽論壇), an array of non-governmental activities organized between China and Taiwan. Almost all venues are located in Fujian Province of the PRC. Taiwan delegates are mostly selected from the blue camp, especially the ranks of KMT politicians.

No. Year, dates Venue / location(s)
1st 2009, May 15–22 Xiamen 廈門, Fuzhou 福州, Quanzhou 泉州, Putian 莆田
2nd 2010, June 19–25 Xiamen
3rd 2011, June 11–17  "
4th 2012, June 16–22  "
5th 2013, June 16–21  "
6th 2014, June 14–20  "
7th 2015, June 14–20  "
8th 2016, June 11–17  "
9th 2017, June 17–23 Xiamen; Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Putian, Zhangzhou 漳州, Longyan 龍岩; Kinmen (ROC)
10th 2018, June 5–11 Xiamen
11th 2019, June 15–21  "
12th 2020, Sept. 19  "
13th 2021, Dec. 10–11  "
14th 2022, July 12–14  "

An additional regular bilateral event is the Cross-Strait CEO Summit (liang'an qiyejia fenghui 兩岸企業家峰會, abbrev. CSCS) which was organized in Beijing on July 11, 2013 with Zeng Peiyan 曾培炎 (b. 1938, Zhejiang) as chairman (lishizhang 理事長) for the mainland side, and on July 25, 2013 in Taipei with Vincent Siew 蕭萬長 (b. 1939, Taiwan) as chairman for the Taiwan side. Zeng was replaced with Guo Jinlong 郭金龍 (b. 1947, Jiangsu) in July 2018. CSCS was intended to function as a new mechanism to facilitate industrial exchanges in the era of enhanced cooperation after the signing of ECFA in 2010.

Summit No. Dates Venue
First 2013, Nov. 4–5 Nanjing 南京
Second 2014, Dec. 15–16 Taipei 台北
Third 2015, Nov. 3–4 Nanjing
Fourth 2016, Nov. 6–7 Kinmen 金門, Xiamen 廈門
Fifth 2017, Nov. 6–7 Nanjing
Sixth 2018, Dec. 4–5 Xiamen
Seventh 2019, Nov. 4–5 Nanjing
Eighth 2020, Dec. 9 Taipei, Xiamen
Ninth 2021, Dec. 7 Taipei, Nanjing
Tenth 2022, Dec. 20 Xiamen

Another noteworthy organization is shown directly below.

Straits Economic & Cultural Interchange Association 海峽兩岸經貿文化交流協會
8-2 F., No. 300 Neihu Road Sec. 1,
Neihu District, Taipei City 11493, Taiwan ROC
[11493 台北市內湖區內湖路 1 段 300 號 8 樓之 2]
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🌏  Straits Economic & Cultural Interchange Association – Web link

The Straits Economic & Cultural Interchange Association (haixia liang’an jingmao wenhua jiaoliu xiehui 海峽兩岸經貿文化交流協會, abbrev. haimaohui 海貿會, 🏁—huizhang 會長) was established on March 6, 2007 and promotes economic ties across the Taiwan Strait.

Heads of the Straits Economic & Cultural Interchange Association

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
3/2007—12/2018 Chiang Pin-kung 江丙坤1932-2018Taiwan
12/2018—Kao Koong-lian 高孔廉b. 1944Fujian

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◆ State-owned enterprises / Public institutions

State-owned enterprises (guoying shiye 國營事業, abbrev. SOE) have played an important role in the economy of the ROC for decades. They were especially instrumental in the period of rapid economic development when Taiwan evolved from being a rural, backward country to a modern industrial society since the 1960s. SOEs were active in various areas—agriculture, food processing, transportation, infrastructure, public utilities, heavy industry, banking, insurance and more, assisting industrial development and securing economic stability. Furthermore, the government would sometimes be involved in enterprises that required unusually large capital investments. Other government businesses were founded to employ veterans who would otherwise have been destitute. The "China Yearbook 1976" (p. iii, pp. 206-213) listed thirteen government enterprises (see directly below).

SOE list 1

Taiwan Sugar Corporation (Taiwan tangye gufen youxian gongsi 台灣糖業股份有限公司, abbrev. Taitang 台糖 in Chinese and Taisugar or TSC in English)
Taiwan Power Company (Taiwan dianli gufen youxian gongsi 台灣電力股份有限公司, abbrev. Taidian 台電 in Chinese and TPC or Taipower in English)
Chinese Petroleum Corporation (Zhongguo shiyou gufen youxian gongsi 中國石油股份有限公司, abbrev. Zhongyou 中油 in Chinese and CPC in English)—now called CPC Corporation, Taiwan
Taiwan Shipbuilding Corporation (Taiwan guoji zaochuan gufen youxian gongsi 台灣國際造船股份有限公司, abbrev. TSBC)—now belongs to CSBC
Taiwan Alkali Company (Taiyan shiye gufen youxian gongsi 臺鹽實業股份有限公司, abbrev. TAC)—today's Taiyen Biotech Co. Ltd.
Taiwan Fertilizer Company (Taiwan feiliao gufen youxian gongsi 台灣肥料股份有限公司, abbrev. TFC)
Taiwan Aluminum Corporation (Taiwan lüye gongsi 臺灣鋁業公司, abbrev. TALCO)
Taiwan Metal Mining Corporation (Taiwan jinshu kuangye gongsi 台灣金屬礦業公司, abbrev. TMMIC)
Taiwan Machinery Manufacturing Corporation (Taiwan jiqi zhizao gongsi 台灣機器製造公司, abbrev. TMMC)
BES Engineering Corporation (Zhonghua gongcheng gufen youxian gongsi 中華工程股份有限公司, abbrev. BES)
Chung Tai Chemical Industries Corporation (Zhong Tai huagong gufen youxian gongsi 中臺化工股份有限公司, abbrev. CTCIC)
Chinese Petrochemical Development Corporation (Zhongguo shiyou huaxue gongye kaifa gufen youxian gongsi 中國石油化學工業開發股份有限公司, abbrev. CPDC)
China Phosphate Industries Corporation (Zhongguo linye gufen youxian gongsi 中國磷業股份有限公司, abbrev. CPIC)

After Taiwan's economy took off, the original reasons for the existence of SOEs lost much of their force due to the growth of the private sector. Facing increasing international competition, the island needed to keep its competitive edge sharp, and the government recognized that privatization (minyinghua 民營化) of inefficient and overstaffed SOEs had become essential to further development. Government agencies that ran businesses included MOEA, MOF, MOTC, VAC and TPG (Taiwan Provincial Government). An ad hoc committee set up by the Cabinet defined the goals of privatization in 1989, and several SOEs subsequently underwent a process of privatization from the 1990s on. Another motive for the ROC government to launch the privatization drive was to improve Taiwan's chances for being admitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO); Taiwan eventually became a WTO member on Jan. 1, 2002.

As more SOEs were privatized, the significance of the remaining SOEs for Taiwan's overall economy has decreased quite substantially. Detailed explanations describing the privatization complex can be found in several related articles published in the October 1998 edition of the English-language magazine Free China Review (called "Taiwan Review" since the March 2003 edition). The following list (source: CEPD) shows a selection of former SOEs which were privatized.

SOE list 2

Company name Privatization date
Chung Kuo Insurance Co. (Zhongguo chanxian gongsi 中國產險公司) 1994, May 5
CPDC— in SOE list 1 1994, June 20
BES— in SOE list 1 1994, June 22
China Steel Corporation (Zhongguo gangtie gongsi 中國鋼鐵公司) 1995, April 12
Yangming Marine Transport Corporation (yangming haiyun gongsi 陽明海運公司) 1996, Feb. 15
Liquefied Petroleum Gas Supply Administration (yihua shiyouqi gongyingchu 液化石油氣供應處) 1996, March 16
Chunghwa Telecom Co. (Zhonghua dianxin gufen youxian gongsi 中華電信股份有限公司) 1996, July 1
Veterans Gas Manufactory (rongmin qitichang 榮民氣體廠) 1998, Jan. 1
Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (Zhanghua yinhang 彰化銀行)  "
First Commercial Bank (diyi yinhang 第一銀行) 1998, Jan. 22
Hua Nan Commercial Bank (huanan yinhang 華南銀行)  "
Taiwan Business Bank (Taiwan zhongxiao qiyin 台灣中小企銀)  "
Taiwan Fire and Marine Insurance Co. (Taiwan chanwu baoxian 台灣產物保險)  "
Taiwan Navigation Co. (Taiwan hangji 台灣航業) 1998, June 20
Taiwan Life Insurance Co. (Taiwan renshou 台灣人壽) 1998, June 30
Kang-Shan Ropery Factory (gangshan gongchang 岡山工廠) 1998, Aug. 1
Veterans Nan-Tsu Abrasive Factory (nanzi gongchang 楠梓工廠) 1998, Sept. 30
Taiwan Development and Trust Corporation (Tai kai xintuo 台開信託) 1999, Jan. 8
Veterans Printing Works (rongmin yinshuachang 榮民印刷廠) 1999, March 31
Taipei Paper Manufactory (Taibei zhichang 台北紙廠) 1999, Aug. 31
TFC— in SOE list 1 1999, Sept. 1
The Farmers Bank of China (Zhongguo nongmin yinhang 中國農民銀行) 1999, Sept. 3
Chiao Tung Bank (jiaotong yinhang 交通銀行) 1999, Sept. 13
Bank of Kaohsiung (Gaoxiong yinhang 高雄銀行) 1999, Sept. 27
Taiwan Film Culture Co. (Taiwan dianying wenhua shiye gongsi 台灣電影文化事業公司) 1999, Oct. 31
Taipei Bank (Taibei yinhang 台北銀行) 1999, Nov. 30
Taichung Lumber Processing Factory (Taizhong mucaichang 台中木材廠) 2000, July 31
Taipei Iron Works (Taibei tiegong chang 台北鐵工廠) 2000, Oct. 31
Taipei City Government Printing House (Taibei shizhengfu yinshuasuo 台北市政府印刷所) 2000, Dec. 31
Hsin Sheng Press Co. (Taiwan xinsheng baoye gongsi 臺灣新生報業公司)  "
Taiwan Motor Transport Co. (Tai qi keyun gongsi 台汽客運公司) 2001, July 1
Taiwan Chung Hsing Paper Corporation (zhongxing zhiye gongsi 中興紙業公司) 2001, Oct. 16
TMMC— in SOE list 1 2001, Nov. 19
Taoyuan Furniture Factory (Taoyuan gongchang 桃園工廠) 2001, Dec. 31
Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau (Taiwansheng yanjiu gongmaiju 台灣省菸酒公賣局) 2002, July 1
Central Reinsurance Corporation (zhongyang zaibaoxian gongsi 中央再保險公司) 2002, July 11
Kaohsiung Ammonium Sulphate Co. (Gao liu gongsi 高硫公司) 2002, Dec. 31
Agricultural and Industrial Enterprise Co. (nonggong gongsi 農工公司) 2003, Jan. 1
Taiwan Railway Freight Co. (Tai tie huoban gongsi 台鐵貨搬公司)  "
Taiyen Biotech Co., Ltd. in SOE list 1 2003, Nov. 14
Tang Eng Iron Works Co., Ltd. (tangrong tie gongchang gufen youxian gongsi 唐榮鐵工廠股份有限公司, abbrev. TEIWC) 2006, July 5
CSBC Corporation Taiwan (Taiwan guoji zaochuan gongsi 台灣國際造船公司)— in SOE list 1 2008, Dec. 18
Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (hanxiang hangkong gongye gufen youxian gongsi 漢翔航空工業股份有限公司, abbrev. AIDC) 2014, Aug. 21

 
* * * SEE ALSO * * *

Details about five privatized former state-owned enterprises—CSBC, CSC, Taiyen Biotech, Chunghwa Telecom, and First Bank—can be found on the following page of this website.

🔴 "Non- governmental sector", Privatized former state-owned enterprises

Remarks about other former state-owned enterprises in SOE list 1:

  • TALCO () was taken over by CSC in February 1985 and reorganized as a new subordinate company—C. S. Aluminium Corporation (Zhong gang lüye gufen youxian gongsi 中鋼鋁業股份有限公司, abbrev. CSAC)—in March 1996.
  • TMMiC () was merged into Taisugar in March 1991.
  • CTCIC () merged into CPDC in May 1982.
  • CPIC () merged into CPDC in January 1981.

According to information shown on the website of the MOEA State-owned Enterprise Commission (jingjibu guoying shiye weiyuanhui 經濟部國營事業委員會, abbrev. SEC) which was established in November 1932, the following four corporations are currently SOEs of the ROC:

Taipower, CPC and Taisugar are slated to be privatized in the future.

Please note that above list of SOEs provided by the SEC does not include Chunghwa Post Co. Ltd.—the Directorate-General of Posts (jiaotongbu youzheng zongju 交通部郵政總局) under MOTC was restructured from a government department to a government-owned corporation and renamed effective Jan. 1, 2003. Also not included by SEC are Taiwan’s national carrier China Airlines (CAL), the state-owned Bank of Taiwan (BOT) as well as Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation (TTL), Taiwan International Ports Corporation Ltd. (TIPC), Taoyuan International Airport Corporation (TIAC), Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC) and others.

In Taiwanese SOEs and private companies, the term "chairperson" (dongshizhang 董事長) can be abbreviated in Chinese with dongzuo 董座, the term "president" (zong jingli 總經理) with zongzuo 總座.

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Taiwan Sugar Corporation (Taisugar/TSC)

Taiwan Sugar Corporation (Taisugar/TSC) 台灣糖業公司
No. 68 Shengchan Road,
East District, Tainan City 70176, Taiwan ROC
[70176 台南市東區生產路 68 號]
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🌏 Taisugar – Web link

Taisugar (Taiwan tangye gongsi 台灣糖業公司, abbrev. Taitang台糖, 🏁—dongshizhang 董事長) was created on May 1, 1946 by the merger of four companies which had been established during the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945)—Dai Nippon Sugar Manufacturing Company (da Riben zhitang zhushi huishe 大日本製糖株式會社), Taiwan Sugar Company (Taiwan zhitang zhushi huishe 台灣製糖株式會社), Ensuiko Sugar Company (Yanshuigang zhitang zhushi huishe 鹽水港製糖株式會社), and Meiji Sugar Company (mingzhi zhitang zhushi huishe 明治製糖株式會社).

After the importance of sugar cane cultivation and processing for Taiwan's economy started waning in the 1960s, the state-run enterprise has been diversifying significantly into various sectors. These include biotechnology, agriculture, animal industry, marketing, petroleum, leisure businesses as well as property management, farm management and land development. Taisugar still produces sugar, processed sugar products and by-products of sugar processing. Another senior position in Taisugar is president (zong jingli 總經理).

Taisugar chairpersons

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
5/1946—5/1950Wu Chao-hung 吳兆洪N/AN/A
6/1950—12/1950Yang Gi-tzeng 楊繼曾1898-1992Zhejiang
1/1951—1/1967Lee Chung-shih 李崇實b. 1896, d. N/AShaanxi
2/1967—6/1972Tang Yuan-chi 湯元吉1904-1994Jiangsu
7/1972—12/1980Chang Yen-tien 張研田1910-1986Hebei
12/1980—12/1981Chang Hsien-tsiu 張憲秋1915-2005Jiangsu
12/1981—11/1989Wong Yi-ting 汪彝定b. 1920Beijing
12/1989—10/1992Koh Chin-chao 葛錦昭b. 1925Jiangsu
11/1992—9/1995Wei Hao-jan 魏浩然N/AN/A
9/1995—8/1997Chang Yu-huei 張有惠b. 1941Taiwan
9/1997—3/2002Chien Ping-tsai 錢秉才b. 1940Shanghai
4/2002—12/2003Wu Nai-jen 吳乃仁b. 1947Taiwan
12/2003—6/2004Kong Jaw-sheng 龔照勝1955-2016Taiwan
7/2004—2/2005Lin Neng-pai 林能白b. 1953Taiwan
2/2005—10/2007Yu Cheng-hsien 余政憲b. 1959Taiwan
10/2007—5/2008Arthur Iap 葉國興b. 1952Taiwan
9/2008—12/2008Wu Rong-ming 吳容明b. 1943Taiwan
12/2008—5/2013Hu Mao-lin 胡懋麟b. 1946N/A
5/2013—9/2016Chen Chao-yih 陳昭義b. 1954N/A
9/2016—6/2019Charles Huang 黃育徵N/AN/A
6/2019—Chen Chao-yih (second time)

Taisugar presidents

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
1946–1950Shen Chen-nan 沈鎮南1902-1951 Shanghai
6/1950—4/1958 @Yang Gi-tzeng 楊繼曾1898-1992Zhejiang
4/1958—2/1965Powers A. Lay 雷寶華1893-1981Sichuan/Shaanxi
2/1965—1/1972M. H. Yuan 袁夢鴻b. 1904, d. N/AGuangdong
1/1972—5/1976 Yu Ying-piao 郁英彪1926-1976N/A
6/1976—1/1984Tan Hsiang-sun 但香蓀b. 1918, d. N/AHubei
1/1984—5/1987Yuan Shu-sheng 袁樹聲N/AN/A
5/1987—10/1992Wei Hao-jan 魏浩然N/AN/A
10/1992—9/1995Chang Yu-huei 張有惠b. 1941Taiwan
9/1995—9/1997Chien Ping-tsai 錢秉才b. 1940Shanghai
9/1997—3/2002Cheng Hung-tsai 鄭鴻財N/AN/A
3/2002—1/2003Ray Dawn 董瑞斌N/ATaiwan
1/2003—2/2004Yeh Hung-chan 葉鴻展N/AN/A
2/2004—6/2004Kong Jaw-sheng 龔照勝1955-2016Taiwan
6/2004—5/2006Wei Wei 魏巍N/AN/A
5/2006—9/2008Lin Chung-hung 林重宏N/AN/A
9/2008—3/2009 @Chen Ching-bin 陳清彬N/AN/A
3/2009—5/2013Wei Wei (second time)
5/2013—6/2016Yang Chin-jung 楊錦榮N/AN/A
7/2016—Kuan Tao-yi 管道一b. N/AN/A

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Taiwan Power Company (Taipower)

Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) 台灣電力公司
No. 242 Roosevelt Road Sec. 3,
Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 10016, Taiwan ROC
[10016 台北市中正區羅斯福路 3 段 242 號]
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🌏 Taipower – Web link

Taipower (Taiwan dianli gongsi 台灣電力公司, abbrev. Taidian 台電) was established on May 1, 1946 when at the end of the Japanese colonial period the operations of Taiwan Power Corporation (Taiwan dianli zhushi huishe 台灣電力株式會社, est. July 31, 1919) were taken over by the ROC. The two lead positions in Taipower are chairman (dongshizhang 董事長) and president (zong jingli 總經理).

Taipower chairpersons

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
5/1946—10/1947Chen Tsung-hsi 陳宗熙1905-2003Zhejiang
10/1947—9/1948Wang Wen-ho 翁文灝1889-1971Zhejiang
9/1948—10/1949Sun Yue-chi 孫越崎1893-1995Zhejiang
10/1949—5/1950Chu Chien 朱謙1903-1981Zhejiang
5/1950—1/1955Chu Yi-cheng 朱一成1900-1957Jiangxi
2/1955—5/1976Yang Chia-yu 楊家瑜1903-1984Jiangxi
5/1976—9/1985L. K. Chen 陳蘭皋b. 1914, d. N/AGuangdong
9/1985—9/1988Fu Tze-han 傅次韓1917-2002Hunan
9/1988—7/1989Wang Chou-ming 王昭明1920-2015Fujian
8/1989—7/1997Chang Chung-chien 張鍾潛b. 1923Shanghai
7/1997—2/2002Hsi Shih-chi 席時濟b. 1936Jiangsu
3/2002—5/2002Lin Wen-yuan 林文淵b. 1952Taiwan
5/2002—7/2004Lin Neng-pai 林能白b. 1953Taiwan
7/2004—5/2005Lin Ching-chi 林清吉N/AN/A
7/2005—1/2006Huang Ing-san 黃營杉b. 1941Taiwan
4/2006—5/2012Edward K. M. Chen 陳貴明b. 1948Taiwan
5/2012 @Lee Han-shen 李漢申N/AN/A
5/2012—7/2016Hwang Jung-chiou 黃重球b. 1952N/A
8/2016—10/2017Chu Wen-chen 朱文成b. 1952N/A
10/2017—3/2022Yang Wei-fu 楊偉甫b. 1952N/A
3/2022—Tseng Wen-sheng 曾文生b. 1969Taiwan

Taipower presidents

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
1/1947—5/1950Liu Chin-yu 劉晉鈺1898-1950 Fujian
5/1950—4/1962Huang Hui 黃煇b. 1903, d. N/AFujian
4/1962—8/1964Sun Yun-suan 孫運璿1913-2006Shandong
8/1964—5/1976L. K. Chen 陳蘭皋b. 1914, d. N/AGuangdong
5/1976—9/1985David S. L. Chu 朱書麟b. 1918Zhejiang
9/1985—7/1989Chen Chen-hua 陳振華N/AN/A
7/1989—8/1994Chang Si-min 張斯敏N/AN/A
8/1994—7/1997Hsi Shih-chi 席時濟b. 1936Jiangsu
7/1997—3/2001Kuo Chun-hui 郭俊惠N/AN/A
3/2001—7/2004Lin Ching-chi 林清吉N/AN/A
8/2004—4/2006Edward K. M. Chen 陳貴明b. 1948Taiwan
4/2006—4/2010Tu Cheng-yi 涂正義N/AN/A
5/2010—5/2013Lee Han-shen 李漢申N/AN/A
5/2013—8/2016Chu Wen-chen 朱文成b. 1952N/A
9/2016—3/2022Chung Ping-li 鍾炳利N/AN/A
3/2022—Wang Yao-ting 王耀庭b. N/AN/A

Energy mix

According to its website, Taipower's electricity-generating plants comprise thermal (71.4 %), nuclear (12.2 %), hydro (6.2 %), and renewable energy facilities (10.2 %); the figures in brackets refer to the percentage of installed capacity as of 2016. The thermal category includes power plants which burn fossil fuels like natural gas or coal.

The world's biggest coal-fired power plant is Taipower's Taichung Power Plant (Taizhong fadianchang 台中發電廠) in Longjing District of Taichung. It consists of ten units with nominal capacities of 550 MW each, the first units were completed in 1992. With annual carbon dioxide emissions of ca. 40 million tons, Taichung Power Plant is the heaviest single polluter on this planet. After the plant had already been fined twice in December 2019 for continuing to use more coal than legally permitted and failing to cease the use of raw coal for power generation, the Taichung City Government on Dec. 25, 2019 revoked permits for the Taichung Power Plant's older No. 2 and No. 3 generators effective Jan. 1, 2020 for violating the Air Pollution Control Act (kongqi wuran fangzhifa 空氣污染防制法) and Taichung's newest coal control regulations that stipulate coal use at that plant is limited to 11.04 million metric tons between January 2019 and 2020. However, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) announced on Feb. 25, 2020 that it was overturning the city's decision, saying that it was based on a misstatement of the facts and a lack of just cause.

On Nov. 12, 2019 Taiwan's first offshore wind farm "Formosa 1" (haiyang zhunan fengli fadianchang 海洋竹南風力發電場) was inaugurated off the shores of Miaoli county, comprising 22 turbines with a total installed capacity of 128 MW.

Taiwan's nuclear facilities

Taipower operates three nuclear power plants and a nuclear waste storage facility in the Taiwan area. A fourth nuclear power plant was mothballed before construction work was complete.

  First Nuclear Power Plant (heyichang 核一廠) {1} aka Chin Shan Nuclear Power Plant (jinshan hedianchang 金山核電廠). Start of commercial operation: Dec. 10, 1978 (unit 1) and July 15, 1979 (unit 2). Scheduled decommission: 2018 and 2019, respectively; operation licenses of the reactors expired on Dec. 5, 2018 (unit 1) and July 15, 2019 (unit 2).

 Second Nuclear Power Plant (heerchang 核二廠) {2} aka Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant (guosheng hedianchang 國聖核電廠). Start of commercial operation: Dec. 28, 1981 (unit 1) and March 15, 1983 (unit 2). Scheduled decommission: 2021 and 2023, respectively.

  Third Nuclear Power Plant (hesanchang 核三廠) {3} aka Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant (maanshan hedianchang 馬鞍山核電廠). Start of commercial operation: July 27, 1984 (unit 1) and May 18, 1985 (unit 2). Scheduled decommission: 2024 and 2025, respectively.

  Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (hesichang 核四廠) {4} aka Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant (longmen hedianchang 龍門核電廠). The plant has been under construction since March 17, 1999; unit 1 was originally due for completion in 2009 and unit 2 in 2010, but the start of commercial operation has been delayed several times and is currently subject to intense public debate. On July 1, 2015 a process to mothball the nearly completed facility was set in motion, although it could still be activated at any time in the future.

  Nuclear Waste Disposal Facility (hefeiliao zhucunchang 核廢料貯存場) {5} aka Lanyu Storage Site (Lanyu zhucunchang 蘭嶼貯存場) at Hongtou 紅頭 on Orchid Island. Initial plans for the facility were approved by the Executive Yuan on Dec. 29, 1975, the first shipment of low and mid-level nuclear waste from Taiwan arrived on May 19, 1982.

— — — Map of Taiwan's nuclear facilities (overview) — — —

Exact location of Taiwan's nuclear facilities (with coordinates)

Facility Location Latitude Longitude
{1} Shimen District 石門區 (New Taipei City) 25° 17′ 10″ N 121° 35′ 14″ E
{2} Wanli District 萬里區 (New Taipei City) 25° 12′ 10″ N 121° 39′ 46″ E
{3} Hengchun Town 恆春鎮 (Pingtung County) 21° 57′ 29″ N 120° 45′ 06″ E
{4} Gongliao District 貢寮區 (New Taipei City) 25° 02′ 18″ N 121° 55′ 29″ E
{5} Lanyu Township 蘭嶼鄉 (Taitung County) 22° 00′ 15″ N 121° 35′ 29″ E

Note: The linear distances between the nuclear power plants in New Taipei City and Taipei City Hall 台北市政府 are as follows—First Nuclear Power Plant: 28.35 km; Second Nuclear Power Plant: 20.90 km; and Fourth Nuclear Power Plant: 36.28 km. (Sources: Google Maps, Google Earth)

Technology in Taiwan's nuclear power plants

Plant Technology Units Unit capacity Total capacity
{1} Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) 2 636 MW 1272 MW
{2} BWR 2 985 MW 1970 MW
{3} Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) 2 951 MW 1902 MW
{4} Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) 2 1350 MW 2700 MW

Phasing out nuclear energy?

Amendments to the Electricity Act (dianyefa 電業法) which were approved by the ROC Legislative Yuan on Jan. 11, 2017 and promulgated on Jan. 26 that year stipulated that 'nuclear-energy-based power-generating facilities shall wholly stop running by 2025' (Article 95-1). Following the result of the nationwide referendum 16 on the issue, the ROC government on Nov. 27, 2018 announced it would re-evaluate the country's energy policies. Taipower in turn announced on Dec. 3, 2018 it would hold off returning unused fuel rods from the mothballed Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant to the US until a decision on whether to alter the nation's energy transition map has been reached. The Legislative Yuan scrapped the 2025 moratorium in the Electricity Act on May 7, 2019.

While the first reactor of the Chin Shan Nuclear Power plant was scheduled to be decommissioned on Dec. 5, 2018, the process is expected to be delayed significantly because the New Taipei City government has not yet issued an operating permit for an outdoor storage yard at the plant site for the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel, meaning that the 816 fuel rods still in the power plant's first reactor will have to stay where they are, and the plant's safety equipment will have to be kept running. An alternative indoor storage facility planned by Taipower would take at least ten years to build. On May 15, 2019 the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) approved a 25-year decommissioning plan for the first reactor.

On Nov. 22, 2019 the MOEA announced that the Tao community on Lanyu would receive NT$ 2.55 billion in compensation after a government investigation found that they were unaware of plans to create the Nuclear Waste Disposal Facility there.

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CPC Corporation, Taiwan (CPC)

CPC Corporation, Taiwan (CPC) 台灣中油股份有限公司
No. 3 Songren Road,
Xinyi District, Taipei City 11010, Taiwan ROC
[11010 台北市信義區松仁路 3 號]
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🌏 CPC – Web link

CPC (Taiwan zhongyou gufen youxian gongsi 台灣中油股份有限公司, 🏁—dongshizhang 董事長) was established on June 1, 1946 in Shanghai by the ROC government and is a state-owned petroleum, natural gas, and gasoline company. Before Feb. 9, 2007 its name was Chinese Petroleum Corporation (Zhongguo shiyou 中國石油). Another senior position in CPC is president (zong jingli 總經理).

CPC chairpersons

Tenure (started) Name Born/Died Native Province
6/1946Wang Wen-ho 翁文灝1889-1971Zhejiang
1/1950Yen Chia-kan 嚴家淦1905-1993Jiangsu
3/1951Ling Hung-hsun 凌鴻勛1894-1981Guangdong
1971Liu Keh-shu 柳克述1904-1987Hunan
6/1976Hu Hsin-nan 胡新南1914-2011Jiangsu
1982Lee Ta-hai 李達海1919-1995Liaoning
4/1985—5/1993Chen Yao-sheng 陳耀生b. 1923Zhejiang
6/1993—12/1996Chang Tzu-yuan 張子源1942-2010N/A
12/1996—10/1997Lee Shu-chiu 李樹久N/AN/A
10/1997—6/2002Regis C. W. Chen 陳朝威1947-2009Fujian
6/2002—1/2006Kuo Chin-tsai 郭進財N/AN/A
1/2006—4/2006Chen Pao-lang 陳寶郎b. 1943Taiwan
4/2006—3/2009Wenent P. Pan 潘文炎b. 1945Jiangsu
3/2009—9/2009Shih Yen-shiang 施顏祥b. 1950Taiwan
10/2009—7/2012Chu Shao-hua 朱少華b. 1947Jiangsu
7/2012—5/2016Lin Sheng-chung 林聖忠b. 1952Taiwan
5/2016—9/2016 @Paul Chen 陳綠蔚b. 1956N/A
9/2016—8/2017Chen Chin-te 陳金德b. 1961Taiwan
9/2017—11/2017 @Yang Wei-fu 楊偉甫b. 1952N/A
11/2017—3/2019Tai Chein 戴謙b. 1949Taiwan
3/2019—2/2021Jerry J. R. Ou 歐嘉瑞b. 1956Taiwan
2/2021— @Lee Shun-chin 李順欽b. 1953Taiwan

CPC presidents

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
1950–1961King Kai-ying 金開英1902-1999Zhejiang
1961–1976Hu Hsin-nan 胡新南1914-2011Jiangsu
1976–1982Lee Ta-hai 李達海1919-1995Liaoning
1982–1985Chen Yao-sheng 陳耀生b. 1923Zhejiang
1985—11/1987Chou Chi-chin 周啟錦N/AN/A
11/1987—7/1992Kuan Yung-shih 關永實b. 1933Hebei
7/1992—11/1996K. Y. Chen 陳國勇N/AN/A
11/1996—7/2004Wenent P. Pan 潘文炎b. 1945Jiangsu
7/2004—9/2008Chen Pao-lang 陳寶郎b. 1943Taiwan
9/2008—8/2010Chu Shao-hua 朱少華b. 1947Jiangsu
8/2010—11/2012Lin Maw-wen 林茂文N/AN/A
11/2012—9/2013Arthur Kung 孔祥雲N/AN/A
9/2013—1/2017Paul Chen 陳綠蔚b. 1956N/A
1/2017—1/2018Liu Cheng-hsie 劉晟熙N/AN/A
2/2018—Lee Shun-chin 李順欽b. 1953Taiwan

Please note that Hu Hsin-nan was also known as Jerome Hu Sinnan.

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Taiwan Water Corporation (TWC)

Taiwan Water Corporation (TWC) 台灣自來水公司
No. 2-1 Shuangshi Road Sec. 2,
North District, Taichung City 40455, Taiwan ROC
[40455 台中市北區雙十路 2 段 2-1 號]
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🌏 TWC – Web link

TWC (Taiwan zilaishui gongsi 台灣自來水公司, abbrev. Taishui 台水, 🏁—dongshizhang 董事長) was formally established on Jan. 1, 1974 as a state-owned water utility providing water supply to Taiwan and the offshore islands of the ROC. Another senior position in TWC is president (zong jingli 總經理).

TWC chairpersons

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
1/1974—7/1976Lin Yang-kang 林洋港1927-2013Taiwan
7/1976—5/1979Lin Ching-hui 林清輝N/AN/A
5/1979—9/1981Jackson C. T. Yang 楊金欉1923-1990Taiwan
9/1981—1/1982Cheng Shui-chih 鄭水枝b. 1926Taiwan
1/1982—4/1995Lin Heng-shen 林恆生b. 1925N/A
4/1995—7/1996Hsu Hung-chih 徐鴻志b. 1937N/A
7/1996—4/1998 @Lin Maw-wen 林茂文N/AN/A
4/1998—11/2000Lin Hsueh-cheng 林學正N/AN/A
11/2000—9/2004Chen Chih-yi 陳志奕N/AN/A
9/2004—5/2005Lee Wen-liang 李文良N/AN/A
9/2005—9/2007Hsu Shiang-kueen 徐享崑b. 1954N/A
9/2007—12/2007 @Chen Fu-tien 陳福田N/AN/A
12/2007—8/2009Liao Tzung-sheng 廖宗盛N/AN/A
8/2009—3/2010 @Chen Fu-tien (second time acting)
3/2010—4/2011Huang Min-kon 黃敏恭b. 1947N/A
4/2011—7/2016Juan Kang-meng 阮剛猛b. 1951N/A
7/2016—1/2019Kuo Chun-ming 郭俊銘b. 1955Taiwan
1/2019—3/2019
>>> [vacant] <<<
3/2019—Wei Ming-ku 魏明谷b. 1963Taiwan

TWC presidents

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
1/1974—7/1976Chen Lien-chuan 陳廉泉N/AN/A
7/1976—11/1989Chen Chin-chung 陳金鐘N/AN/A
11/1989—10/1992Lee Chin-ti 李錦地N/AN/A
10/1992—9/1998Lin Maw-wen 林茂文N/AN/A
9/1998—11/2000Lu Ching-hsiung 盧清雄N/AN/A
11/2000—7/2004Chen Jung-tsang 陳榮藏N/AN/A
7/2004—9/2004Chang Feng 張豐N/AN/A
9/2004—5/2005Hsieh Chi-nan 謝啟男N/AN/A
5/2005—6/2007Huang Ching-ssu 黃慶四N/AN/A
6/2007—6/2013Chen Fu-tien 陳福田N/AN/A
6/2013—Hu Nan-tzer 胡南澤b. 1955N/A

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Chunghwa Post

Chunghwa Post 中華郵政
No. 55 Jinshan South Road Sec. 2,
Daan District, Taipei City 10603, Taiwan ROC
[10603 台北市大安區金山南路 2 段 55 號(金山大樓)] /
No. 216 Aiguo East Road,
Daan District, Taipei City 10603, Taiwan ROC
[10603 台北市大安區愛國東路 216 號(愛國大樓)]
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🌏 Chunghwa Post – Web link

Before its reorganization as government-owned corporation on Jan. 1, 2003, Chunghwa Post (Zhonghua youzheng 中華郵政, 🏁—dongshizhang 董事長) was operated under the name Directorate-General of Post, MOTC (jiaotongbu youzheng zongju 交通部郵政總局, 🏁—juzhang 局長). It was renamed "Taiwan Post" (Taiwan youzheng 台灣郵政) on Feb. 9, 2007. The original name was restored on Aug. 4, 2008. Another senior position in Chunghwa Post is president (zong jingli 總經理).

Chunghwa Post chairpersons

Tenure (started) Name Born/Died Native Province
1932—Huang Nai-shu 黃乃樞N/AN/A
1933—5/1934Tang Pao-shu 唐寶書N/AN/A
5/1934—12/1942Kuo Hsin-sung 郭心崧1897-1979Zhejiang
12/1942—Hsu Chi-chuang 徐繼莊N/AN/A
1947–1949 @Huo Hsi-hsiang 霍錫祥N/AN/A
1/1950—9/1955 @Huang Chia-teh 黃家德b. 1895, d. N/AHubei
9/1955—8/1969Ho Tsung-yen 何縱炎b. 1901, d. N/AGuizhou
8/1969—3/1977Wang Shu-peng 王叔朋b. 1909, d. N/AJiangsu
3/1977—3/1979Shih Yu-chiang 施有強N/AN/A
3/1979—4/1983Chien Er-kang 簡爾康b. 1917Taiwan
4/1983—11/1985John S. T. Wang 王述調b. 1920Jiangxi
11/1985—8/1989Wang Chen-yun 汪承運b. 1924Zhejiang
8/1989—6/1992Hsia Ho-sheng 夏荷生b. 1927Jiangsu
6/1992—6/1996Hsu Chieh-kwei 許介圭b. 1932Taiwan
7/1996—5/2000Chen Chiung-ling 陳瓊玲b. 1934Taiwan
5/2000—8/2000 @Huang Shui-cheng 黃水成N/AN/A
8/2000—12/2002Cheng Wen-jan 鄭文政b. 1937Taiwan
1/2003—4/2003Chang Chia-juch 張家祝b. 1950Liaoning
4/2003—3/2006Samuel J. S. Hsu 許仁壽b. 1954Taiwan
3/2006—5/2006 @Chen Chi-hsiung 陳吉雄b. 1944Taiwan
5/2006—3/2007Lai Chin-chyi 賴清祺b. 1948Taiwan
3/2007—6/2008Ho Nuan-hsuen 何煖軒b. 1953Taiwan
6/2008—5/2009Wu Min-yu 吳民佑N/AN/A
5/2009—6/2009 @Hu Sheue-yun 胡雪雲N/AN/A
6/2009—2/2013Oliver F. L. Yu 游芳來b. 1946Taiwan
2/2013—8/2013Lee Jih-chu 李紀珠b. 1960Taiwan
8/2013—11/2013 @Jonathan Chen 陳純敬N/AN/A
11/2013—6/2017Philip Wen-chyi Ong 翁文祺b. 1960N/A
6/2017—5/2018 @Wang Kwo-tsai 王國材b. 1959N/A
5/2018—5/2019Wei Chien-hung 魏健宏N/AN/A
5/2019—6/2019 @Wang Kwo-tsai 王國材b. 1959N/A
6/2019—Wu Hong-mo 吳宏謀b. 1954N/A

Chunghwa Post presidents

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
1/2003—3/2006Huang Shui-cheng 黃水成N/AN/A
5/2006—6/2008Wu Min-yu 吳民佑N/AN/A
6/2008—5/2012Hu Sheue-yun 胡雪雲N/AN/A
5/2012—5/2015Wang Chang 王昌b. 1949N/A
5/2015—5/2019Chen Shian-juh 陳憲着N/AN/A
5/2019—Chiang Jui-tang 江瑞堂b. N/AN/A

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China Airlines (CAL)

China Airlines (CAL) 中華航空公司
No. 131 Nanjing East Road Sec. 3,
Zhongshan District, Taipei City 10410, Taiwan ROC
[10410 台北市中山區南京東路 3 段 131 號]
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🌏 CAL – Web link

CAL (Zhonghua hangkong gongsi 中華航空公司, abbrev. huahang 華航), established on Dec. 16, 1959, is the flag carrier of the ROC and the largest airline in Taiwan. Although CAL was privatized in 1991 and officially listed on the TWSE on Feb. 26, 1993, it is still indirectly state-owned, with the China Aviation Development Foundation (Zhonghua hangkong shiye fazhan jijinhui 中華航空事業發展基金會, abbrev. CADF) being the majority shareholder. The highest position in CAL is chairman (dongshizhang 董事長), the next most senior position is president (zong jingli 總經理).

CAL chairpersons

Tenure started Name Born/Died Native Province
12/1959Yang Tao-ku 楊道古1914-2001Zhejiang
1963Chien Ta-chun 錢大鈞1893-1982Jiangsu
1968Hsu Huan-sheng 徐煥昇1906-1984Shanghai
1976Clifford Louie Yim-qun 雷炎均1914-1999<USA>
1977Szeto Fu 司徒福1916-1992Guangdong
5/1983Wu Yueh 烏鉞1915-2008Liaoning
1993Liu Teh-min 劉德敏b. 1921Jiangsu
1994Chiang Hung-i 蔣洪彝b. 1926Jiangsu
7/2000Lee Yun-ling 李雲寧b. 1932Jiangsu
7/2004Chiang Yao-chung 江耀宗b. 1952Taiwan
11/2005Philip Wei 魏幸雄b. 1942Taiwan
10/2007Ringo Chao 趙國帥b. 1956Taiwan
7/2008Philip Wei (second time)
12/2010Chang Chia-juch 張家祝b. 1950Liaoning
2/2013Sun Hung-hsiang 孫洪祥b. 1948Shanghai
6/2016Ho Nuan-hsuen 何煖軒b. 1953Taiwan
4/2019Hsieh Shih-chien 謝世謙N/AN/A
3/2021—Kao Shing-hwang 高星潢b. N/AN/A

CAL presidents

Tenure started Name Born/Died Native Province
12/1959Yang Tao-ku 楊道古1914-2001Zhejiang
1963Wu Yueh 烏鉞1915-2008Liaoning
4/1964Ben Chow 周一塵N/AN/A
12/1974Clifford Louie Yim-qun 雷炎均1914-1999 <USA>
12/1976Chang Lin-tech 張麟德N/AN/A
3/1986Chi Jung-chuen 戚榮春N/AN/A
7/1990Pien Shih-nien 卞奭年b. 1923Taiwan
1993Yuan Hsing-yuan 袁行遠b. 1932Jiangsu
6/1994Fu Chun-fan 傅俊番N/AN/A
11/1998Sandy K. Y. Liu 劉國竽b. 1948N/A
7/2000Christine Tsung 宗才怡b. 1948Jiangsu
3/2002Philip Wei 魏幸雄b. 1942Taiwan
11/2005Ringo Chao 趙國帥b. 1956Taiwan
6/2008Sun Hung-hsiang 孫洪祥b. 1948Shanghai
11/2013Samuel Lin Perng-liang 林鵬良b. 1953N/A
8/2015Chang Yu-hern 張有恆b. 1954Taiwan
6/2016—Hsieh Shih-chien 謝世謙b. N/AN/A

A noteworthy CAL subsidiary is China Pacific Catering Services (huashan kongchu gufen youxian gongsi 華膳空厨股份有限公司). Furthermore, in September 1999 the China Airlines Consortium (huahang qiye lianmeng 華航企業聯盟) comprising CAL and other companies won the bid from the ROC government for operating aviation cargo transportation in Taiwan. In December that year Taiwan Air Cargo Terminal Ltd. (huachu gufen youxian gongsi 華儲股份有限公司, abbrev. TACT) was set up which on Jan. 16, 2000 took over the cargo terminals both in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TTIA) and Kaohsiung International Airport as sole operator in Taiwan.

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China Aviation Development Foundation (CADF)

China Aviation Development Foundation (CADF) 財團法人中華航空事業發展基金會
2 F., No. 131 Nanjing East Road Sec. 3,
Zhongshan District, Taipei City 10410, Taiwan ROC
[10410 台北市中山區南京東路 3 段 131 號 2 樓]
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🌏 CADF – Web link

The CADF (caituan faren Zhonghua hangkong shiye fazhan jijinhui 財團法人中華航空事業發展基金會, abbrev. hangfahui 航發會, 🏁—dongshizhang 董事長) was established on July 7, 1988 as a non-profit government entity. Its operating income is used to assist in the development of Taiwan's civil aviation industry. The CADF funds were donated by 27 shareholders of China Airlines in February 1988, and CADF is CAL's largest shareholder today.

CADF chairpersons

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
7/1988—6/1997Wang Ching-hsu 汪敬煦1918-2011Zhejiang
8/1997—6/2000Hsu Li-teh 徐立德b. 1931Henan
7/2000—7/2001Chang Chun-yen 張俊彥b. 1937Taiwan
7/2001—6/2002Tsay Jaw-yang 蔡兆陽1941-2008Taiwan
6/2002—3/2006Lin Ling-san 林陵三b. 1944Taiwan
7/2006—9/2006Kuo Yao-chi 郭瑤琪b. 1956Taiwan
9/2006—6/2008Tsai Duei 蔡堆b. 1947Taiwan
6/2008—1/2010Mao Chi-kuo 毛治國b. 1948Zhejiang
1/2010—3/2013Yeh Kuang-shih 葉匡時b. 1957Taiwan
3/2013—4/2015Chen Jian-yu 陳建宇b. 1954Taiwan
4/2015—9/2016Wu Men-feng 吳盟分N/AN/A
11/2016—Wang Kwo-tsai 王國材b. 1959N/A

The post of CADF chairperson is usually reserved for a high-ranking ROC government official. Wang Ching-hsu was concurrently NSB director general, Hsu Li-teh ROC vice premier, Chang Chun-yen president of the National Chiao Tung University (NCTU); the CADF chairpersons from Tsay Jaw-yang to Mao Chi-kuo were MOTC ministers, since Yeh Kuang-shih the CADF chairperson is a MOTC vice minister.

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Taoyuan International Airport Corporation (TIAC)

Taoyuan International Airport Corporation (TIAC) 桃園國際機場股份有限公司
No. 9 Hangzhan South Road,
Dayuan Township, Taoyuan County 33758, Taiwan ROC
[33758 桃園縣大園鄉航站南路 9 號]
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🌏 TIAC – Web link

The TIAC (Taoyuan guoji jichang gufen youxian gongsi 桃園國際機場股份有限公司, 🏁—dongshizhang 董事長) was established on Nov. 1, 2010 and is a state-owned enterprise responsible for the management of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (Taiwan Taoyuan guoji jichang 台灣桃園國際機場, abbrev. TTIA). Before the TIAC was incorporated, the airport administration was a government agency under the MOTC. Another senior position in TIAC is president (zong jingli 總經理 or zongzuo 總座), sometimes also referred to as "CEO" in English.

TIAC chairpersons

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
11/2010—2/2012Yeh Kuang-shih 葉匡時b. 1957Taiwan
2/2012—2/2013Kuo Tsai-wen 郭蔡文b. 1948Taiwan
2/2013—7/2015Yin Chen-pong 尹承蓬b. 1954Taiwan
7/2015—6/2016Samuel Lin Perng-liang 林鵬良b. 1953N/A
6/2016—10/2018Tseng Dar-jen 曾大仁N/AN/A
10/2018—1/2019 @Chi Wen-jong 祁文中N/AN/A
1/2019—Wang Ming-teh 王明德b. N/AN/A

TIAC presidents

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
11/2010—11/2013Samuel Lin Perng-liang 林鵬良b. 1953N/A
11/2013—6/2016David Fei 費鴻鈞b. 1954N/A
6/2016—Hsiao Ting-ko 蕭登科b. N/AN/A

The TTIA is the major gate through which travelers coming from overseas enter Taiwan. The airport facilities were inaugurated on Feb. 26, 1979 and named Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (guoji Zhongzheng jichang 國際中正機場), Terminal II (dier hangxia 第二航廈) was opened on July 29, 2000. Construction for a third terminal began on May 26, 2017 and is scheduled to be completed by 2020. TTIA's current name was adopted on Sept. 6, 2006. Before the opening of the TTIA, the main entry point for foreigners visiting Taiwan was Taipei Songshan Airport (Taibei songshan jichang 台北松山機場) which was completed on March 30, 1936. Since 1979 Taipei Songshan Airport has mostly been used for domestic flights and—more recently—for cross-strait flights. The TTIA is currently being developed into the "Taoyuan Aerotropolis" (Taoyuan hangkongcheng 桃園航空城) as part of the i-Taiwan 12 Projects (ai Tai shier jianshe 愛臺十二建設).

The largest ground handling provider at TTIA is Taoyuan International Airport Services (Taoyuan guoji jichang diqin fuwu gongsi 桃園國際機場地勤服務公司, abbrev. Taoyuan hangqin 桃園航勤 in Chinese and TIAS in English), est. Nov. 8, 1978.

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Taiwan International Ports Corporation Ltd. (TIPC)

Taiwan International Ports Corporation Ltd. (TIPC) 臺灣港務股份有限公司
No. 2-2 Jianguo 3rd Road,
Sanmin District, Kaohsiung City 80748, Taiwan ROC
[80748 高雄市三民區建國三路 2-2 號]
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🌏 TIPC – Web link

The TIPC (Taiwan gangwu gufen youxian gongsi 臺灣港務股份有限公司, abbrev. gangwu gongsi 港務公司, 🏁—dongshizhang 董事長) was established on March 1, 2012 as a state-run enterprise and was vested with the authority over Taiwan's former four harbour bureaus under the MOTC—Hualien Harbor Bureau (jiaotongbu Hualian gangwuju 交通部花蓮港務局), Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau (jiaotongbu Gaoxiong gangwuju 交通部高雄港務局), Keelung Harbor Bureau (jiaotongbu Jilong gangwuju 交通部基隆港務局), and Taichung Harbor Bureau (jiaotongbu Taizhong gangwuju 交通部臺中港務局). The company is tasked to handle comprehensive port operations, enhance operational efficiencies and responsiveness, raise the international profile of Taiwan's international commercial ports, and spur domestic regional economic growth. Another senior position in TIPC is president (zong jingli 總經理).

TIPC chairpersons

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
3/2012—9/2014Hsiao Ding-hsun 蕭丁訓b. 1947N/A
9/2014—9/2016Chang Chih-ching 張志清N/AN/A
9/2016—11/2017Wu Men-feng 吳盟分N/AN/A
11/2017—7/2018Wu Hong-mo 吳宏謀b. 1954N/A
7/2018—9/2018 @Wang Kwo-tsai 王國材b. 1959N/A
9/2018—10/2019Wu Chung-rung 吳宗榮N/AN/A
10/2019—3/2020 @Huang Yu-lin 黃玉霖b. 1963N/A
2/2020—Lee Hsien-yi 李賢義b. 1959N/A

TIPC presidents

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
3/2012—10/2016Lee Tai-hsin 李泰興N/AN/A
10/2016—6/2019Kuo Tien-kuei 郭添貴N/AN/A
6/2019—Chen Shao-liang 陳劭良b. N/AN/A

The following are the TIPC's four subsidiaries:

  Port of Hualien (Hualian gangwu fen gongsi 花蓮港務分公司)
  Port of Kaohsiung (Gaoxiong gangwu fen gongsi 高雄港務分公司), oversees the Budai District Office (Budai guanlichu 布袋管理處), Magong District Office (Magong guanlichu 馬公管理處), and Anping Port Branch Office (Anping gangying yunchu 安平港營運處)
  Port of Keelung (Jilong gangwu fen gongsi 基隆港務分公司), oversees the Taipei Port Branch Office (Taibei gangying yunchu 臺北港營運處) and Suao Port Branch Office (Suao gangying yunchu 蘇澳港營運處)
  Port of Taichung (Taizhong gangwu fen gongsi 臺中港務分公司)

Other noteworthy subordinate organizations under the TIPC include the Policy and Strategy Committee (jingying celüe weiyuanhui 經營策略委員會) and the Port Business Committee (yingyun weiyuanhui 營運委員會).

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Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC)

Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC) 台灣高速鐵路股份有限公司
14 F., No. 66 Jingmao 2nd Road,
Nangang District, Taipei City 11568, Taiwan ROC
[11568 台北市南港區經貿二路 66 號 14 樓]
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🌏 THSRC – Web link

The THSRC (Taiwan gaosu tielu gufen youxian gongsi 台灣高速鐵路股份有限公司, abbrev. Taiwan gaotie gongsi 台灣高鐵公司, 🏁—dongshizhang 董事長) was established on May 11, 1998. THSRC and the ROC MOTC signed agreements about Taiwan's high speed rail project on July 23, 1998 according to a build-operate-transfer (minjian xingjian yingyunhou zhuanyi moshi 民間興建營運後轉移模式, abbrev. BOT) scheme. In March 2000, the first contract of the civil works was awarded and began construction in August 2000. THSRC's bullet train service on the 345 km long high-speed rail line was launched on Jan. 5, 2007, operating eight stations—Taipei 台北, Banqiao 板橋, Taoyuan 桃園, Hsinchu 新竹, Taichung 台中, Chiayi 嘉義, Tainan 台南, and Kaohsiung 高雄 (Zuoying 左營). Three more stations were opened on Dec. 1, 2015: Miaoli 苗栗, Changhua 彰化, and Yunlin 雲林, followed by another new station in Nan'gang 南港 on July 1, 2016. On Sept. 27, 2019 the MOTC approved a 17.5–km extension route linking the current southern terminus in Kaohsiung's Zuoying to the TRA station of Liukuaicuo 六塊厝 in Pingtung County, the new route is scheduled to start operations in 2029.

THSRC chairpersons

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
5/1998—9/2009Nita Ing 殷琪b. 1955Zhejiang
9/2009—3/2014Ou Chin-der 歐晉德b. 1944Fujian/Taiwan
3/2014—2/2015Tony Fan 范志強b. 1951Taiwan
2/2015—10/2016Victor W. Liu 劉維琪b. 1952<Greece>
10/2016—Chiang Yao-chung 江耀宗b. 1952Taiwan

THSRC CEOs

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
10/2006—3/2014Ou Chin-der 歐晉德b. 1944Fujian/Taiwan
3/2014—James Jeng 鄭光遠b. 1954N/A

The position of Chief Executive Officer/CEO (zhixingzhang 執行長) in THSRC was created on Oct. 1, 2006.

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Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation (TTL)

Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation (TTL) 台灣菸酒股份有限公司
1 F., No. 4 Nanchang Road Sec. 1,
Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 10066, Taiwan ROC
[10066 台北市中正區南昌路 1 段 4 號 1 樓]
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🌏 TTL – Web link

The TTL (Taiwan yanjiu gufen youxian gongsi 台灣菸酒股份有限公司, 🏁—dongshizhang 董事長) was established on July 1, 2002 shortly after Taiwan had joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) earlier that year. TTL’s position of president (zong jingli 總經理) is sometimes referred to in English as “general manager”, especially in older sources.

TTL chairpersons

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
11/1945—9/1946Jen Wei-chun 任維鈞1908-1990Hunan
9/1946—5/1947Chen Ho-sheng 陳鶴聲N/ASichuan
5/1947—2/1950Tsai Hsuan-fu 蔡玄甫N/AJiangxi
2/1950—6/1951Yang Yun-li 楊允隸N/AAnhui
6/1951—6/1954Fan Tse-shan 范澤山N/AZhejiang
6/1954—5/1958Chen Pao-lin 陳寶麟1898-1965Hebei
5/1958—8/1963Wu Dau-kung 吳道艮b. 1915, d. N/AZhejiang
8/1963—1/1969Wang Shao-yu 王紹堉b. 1923Zhejiang
1/1969—9/1973Tan Wen-mao 譚文懋N/AZhejiang
9/1973—8/1976Tang Mao-sung 湯茂松b. 1914, d. N/AJiangsu
8/1976—5/1980Wu Po-hsiung 吳伯雄b. 1939Taiwan
5/1980—5/1986Wu Yueh-ai 伍曰藹N/AJiangxi
5/1986—9/1990Cheng Shih-chin 鄭世津N/ATaiwan
9/1990—4/1992Lan Tsu-tang 藍祖堂N/ATaiwan
4/1992—1/1996Tseng Kuang-tien 曾廣田N/ATaiwan
1/1996—5/2000Shih Yen-shiang 施顏祥b. 1950Taiwan
6/2000—6/2002Chu Cheng-hsiung 朱正雄b. 1942Taiwan
7/2002—10/2002Wang Teh-shan 王得山N/ATaiwan
10/2002—6/2005Huang Ing-san 黃營杉b. 1941Taiwan
7/2005—9/2006Ray Dawn 董瑞斌N/ATaiwan
9/2006—6/2008Tsai Mu-lin 蔡木霖N/ATaiwan
7/2008—11/2010Duan Wei 韋伯韜N/AN/A
11/2010—7/2016Hsu An-hsuan 徐安旋N/AN/A
7/2016—12/2018Wu Jung-hui 吳容輝N/AN/A
12/2018—3/2019 @Tseng Kuo-chi 曾國基b. 1962N/A
3/2019—Ting Yen-che 丁彥哲b. N/AN/A

TTL presidents since 2002

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
2002–6/2005Thomas Lai 賴木山N/AN/A
7/2005—11/2006Chen Wen-kai 陳文凱N/AN/A
11/2006—7/2008Lai Shung-tang 賴舜堂b. 1946N/A
7/2008—11/2010Hsu An-hsuan 徐安旋N/AN/A
11/2010—10/2016Lin Tzaon-feng 林讚峰N/AN/A
10/2016—12/2018Tseng Chun-kai 曾俊凱N/AN/A
12/2018—2/2019 †Chang Lei-min 張黎明1955-2019N/A
2/2019—Huang Chi-shih 黃及時b. N/AN/A

The beginnings of the state-owned enterprise can be traced back to the Japanese colonial period when on June 1, 1901 the Monopoly Bureau of the Taiwan Governor's Office (Taiwan zongdufu zhuanmaiju 台灣總督府專賣局) was created by the merger of the Taiwan Pharmaceutical Factory (Taiwan zhiyaosuo 台灣製藥所) with the Taiwan Salt Bureau (Taiwan yanwuju 台灣鹽務局) and the Taiwan Camphor Bureau (Taiwan zhangnaoju 台灣樟腦局). After the ROC took over Taiwan in 1945, that agency became the Taiwan Provincial Monopoly Bureau (Taiwan sheng zhuanmaiju 台灣省專賣局, 🏁—juzhang 局長) which in turn was reorganized as the Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau (Taiwan sheng yanjiu gongmaiju 台灣省菸酒公賣局, 🏁—juzhang 局長) after the 2-28 Incident in 1947. At that time the ROC on Taiwan maintained a monopoly on five commodities—tobacco, liquor, camphor, matches and measuring instruments. By 1968, the two items that remained in the monopoly system were tobacco and liquor.

TTL's most famous product is Taiwan Beer (Taiwan pijiu 台灣啤酒, abbrev. taipi 台啤). A brewing facility owned by the Takasago Malted Beer Company (gaosha maijiu zhushi huishe 高砂麥酒株式會社) was set up in Taipei on Jan. 13, 1919, and in 1920 the Monopoly Bureau of the Taiwan Governor's Office began marketing Takasago Beer (gaosha maijiu 高砂麥酒). After WWII, the brewery was taken over by Taiwan's Monopoly Bureau as Taipei Beer Company (Taibei pijiu gongsi 台北啤酒公司), and in 1945 the name of the beverage was changed to Taiwan Beer. The production facility was renamed Taipei Second Brewery (Taibei dier jiuchang 台北第二酒廠) in 1947 and Chienkuo Brewery (jianguo pijiuchang 建國啤酒廠) in 1975, and it was finally rechristened Taipei Brewery (Taibei pijiu gongchang 台北啤酒工場) on July 1, 2008.

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Central News Agency (CNA)

Central News Agency (CNA) 中央通訊社
No. 209 Songjiang Road,
Zhongshan District, Taipei City 10485, Taiwan ROC
[10485 台北市中山區松江路 209 號(志清大樓)]—Please note that the building where CNA is located also houses the government Publications Bookstore 國家書店 in the first floor.
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🌏 CNA – Web link

CNA (zhongyang tongxunshe 中央通訊社, abbrev. zhongyangshe 中央社) was established on April 1, 1924 as a publicity organ of the KMT, underwent a thorough reorganization in 1931 and was placed under the control of the ROC central government in 1948. CNA was incorporated in April 1973 as a private-owned company and reorganized in January 1996 as a state-run corporation.

Supposedly an autonomous news gathering organization free of political interference, CNA is in part still funded by the ROC central government, and its top management is appointed by the ROC Executive Yuan. Besides the president (shezhang 社長), CNA's two other lead positions are chairman (dongshizhang 董事長) and editor-in-chief (zong bianji 總編輯).

CNA presidents

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
5/1932—10/1950Hsiao Tung-tze 蕭同茲1895-1973Hunan
10/1950—12/1964Tseng Hsu-pai 曾虛白1895-1994Jiangsu
12/1964—6/1972Ma Hsin-yeh 馬星野1909-1991Zhejiang
6/1972—1/1978James Wei 魏景蒙1907-1982Zhejiang
1/1978—5/1981Frank Lin Chen-chi 林徵祁1917-1990Fujian
5/1981—4/1988Pan Huan-kun 潘煥昆1917-1999<Indonesia>
4/1988—6/1990Hwang Willie Tien-tsai 黃天才b. 1924Guangxi
7/1990—6/1992Hung Chien-chao 洪健昭1932-2018Taiwan
7/1992—4/1994Tang Pan-pan 唐盼盼b. 1942Hunan
5/1994—10/1997Comet Shih 施克敏1936-2010Taiwan
11/1997—6/2002Bill Wang 汪萬里b. 1945Chongqing
7/2002—12/2004Hu Yuan-hui 胡元輝b. 1958Taiwan
1/2004—6/2005 @Lee Wan-lai 李萬來N/AN/A
7/2005—6/2008Liu Chih-tsung 劉志聰b. 1953Taiwan
7/2008—6/2011Chen Shen-ching 陳申青b. 1958Taiwan
7/2011—7/2012Lo Chih-cheng 羅智成b. 1955Taiwan
7/2012—6/2017Fan Hsiang-lin 樊祥麟b. 1957Taiwan
7/2017—Chang Jui-chang 張瑞昌b. N/AN/A

CNA chairpersons

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
4/1973—6/1985Ma Hsin-yeh 馬星野1909-1991Zhejiang
7/1985—6/1990Tsao Sheng-fen 曹聖芬1913-2003Hunan
7/1990—7/1992Willie Hwang Tien-tsai 黃天才b. 1924Guangxi
7/1992—3/1993Hung Chien-chao 洪健昭1932-2018Taiwan
7/1993—6/2002Hsiao Tien-tzang 蕭天讚1934-2017Taiwan
7/2002—6/2008Su Tzen-ping 蘇正平b. 1950Taiwan
7/2008—9/2009Huang Chao-sung 黃肇松b. 1948Taiwan
9/2009 @Wang Wen-hua 王文華b. 1967Taiwan/Anhui
10/2009—6/2011Hung Chien-chao (second time)
7/2011—6/2017Chen Kuo-hsiang 陳國祥b. 1953N/A
7/2017—Liu Ka-shiang 劉克襄b. 1957Taiwan

The CNA offers diverse news coverage on many aspects of Taiwan and the ROC, and its website features online news in Chinese, English ("Focus Taiwan"), Spanish ("Enfoque en Taiwan"), and Japanese (フォーカス台湾). On March 22, 2021 it was announced that CNA’s Spanish-language news services would be suspended indefinitely as of March 31, 2021.

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Public Television Service (PTS)

Public Television Service (PTS) 公共電視台
No. 50 Lane 75, Kangning Road Sec. 3,
Neihu District, Taipei City 11485, Taiwan ROC
[11485 台北市內湖區康寧路 3 段 75 巷 50 號]
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🌏 PTS – Web link

PTS (gonggong dianshitai 公共電視台, abbrev. gongshi 公視, 🏁—dongshizhang 董事長) was established on July 1, 1998 as Taiwan's first independent public broadcasting institution, and it is run by the Taiwan Public Television Service Foundation (caituan faren gonggong dianshi wenhua shiye jijinhui 財團法人公共電視文化事業基金會). The next most senior position in PTS is president (zong jingli 總經理).

PTS chairpersons

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
7/1998—2004Frank Wu Feng-shan 吳豐山b. 1945Taiwan
2004–2007Louis Chen 陳春山b. 1961Taiwan
12/2007—12/2009Cheng Tung-liao 鄭同僚N/AN/A
8/2010—12/2010 @Chen Sheng-fu 陳勝福b. 1953N/A
5/2011—2013Yaly Chao 趙雅麗b. 1951Taiwan
7/2013—9/2016Shaw Yu-ming 邵玉銘b. 1938Heilongjiang
9/2016—5/2022Tchen Yu-chiou 陳郁秀b. 1949Taiwan
5/2022—Hu Yuan-hui 胡元輝b. 1958Taiwan

PTS presidents

Tenure (started) Name Born/Died Native Province
7/1998—Liao Chang-sung 廖蒼松b. 1937Taiwan
7/1999—6/2004Lee Yung-te 李永得b. 1955Taiwan
1/2005—12/2007Hu Yuan-hui 胡元輝b. 1958Taiwan
12/2007—9/2010Sylvia Feng 馮賢賢N/AN/A
9/2010— @Wu Chang-jung 吳昌融N/AN/A
2/2011—12/2014Sunshine Kuang 曠湘霞b. 1951Hunan
1/2015— @Sun Ching 孫青N/AN/A
4/2015—12/2016Chiu Yueh 丘岳N/AN/A
12/2016—7/2020Tsao Wen-chieh 曹文傑b. 1963N/A
8/2020— @Hsu Chiu-hua 徐秋華b. N/AN/A

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Taiwan Financial Holdings Co., Ltd. (TFH)

Taiwan Financial Holdings Co., Ltd. (TFH) 台灣金控
No. 120 Chongqing South Road Sec. 1,
Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 10007, Taiwan ROC
[10007 台北市中正區重慶南路 1 段 120 號]
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🌏 TFH – Web link

TFH (Taiwan jinrong konggu gufen youxian gongsi 臺灣金融控股股份有限公司, abbrev. Taiwan jinkong 台灣金控, 🏁—dongshizhang 董事長) was founded on Dec. 6, 2007 and started business operations on Jan. 1, 2008 as a state-owned corporation. TFH is the parent holding company of the Bank of Taiwan (BOT), BankTaiwan Securities Co., Ltd. (Taiyin zhengquan 臺銀證券, abbrev. BTS) and BankTaiwan Life Insurance Co., Ltd. (Taiyin renshou 臺銀人壽, abbrev. BTLI); the BOT established BankTaiwan Insurance Brokers Co., Ltd. (Taiyin baojing 臺銀保經, abbrev. BTIB) as a subsidiary on Feb. 6, 2013. Another senior post in TFH is president (zong jingli 總經理).

TFH chairpersons

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
1/2008—7/2008Tsai Jer-shyong 蔡哲雄b. 1945Taiwan
7/2008—6/2012Susan Chang 張秀蓮b. 1948Taiwan
7/2012—8/2013Liu Teng-cheng 劉燈城b. 1950Taiwan
8/2013—8/2016Lee Jih-chu 李紀珠b. 1960Taiwan
8/2016—2/2023Joseph C. Lyu 呂桔誠b. 1956Taiwan
2/2023—Shen Jong-chin 沈榮津b. 1951N/A

TFH presidents

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
1/2008—7/2008Wu Fan-chi 吳繁治N/AN/A
7/2008—7/2009 @Peter T. C. Lo 羅澤成b. 1947Taiwan
7/2009—8/2010 @Tsai Fu-chi 蔡富吉N/AN/A
8/2010—7/2012Huang Shou-zuo 黃壽佐N/AN/A
7/2012—9/2013 @Chang Ming-daw 張明道b. 1953N/A
9/2013—2/2014David Chang 張鴻基N/AN/A
3/2014—10/2016Hsiao Chang-jui 蕭長瑞N/AN/A
11/2016—9/2019Austin Chan 詹庭禎N/AN/A
9/2019—Wei Jan-lin 魏江霖b. N/AN/A

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Bank of Taiwan (BOT)

Bank of Taiwan (BOT) 臺灣銀行
No. 120 Chongqing South Road Sec. 1,
Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 10007, Taiwan ROC
[10007 台北市中正區重慶南路 1 段 120 號]
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🌏 BOT – Web link

The BOT (Taiwan yinhang 臺灣銀行, 🏁—dongshizhang 董事長) was founded in June 1899 as Taiwan's central bank by the Japanese colonial government of Taiwan. Following Japan's surrender at the end of WWII the ROC government formally took over the BOT on May 20, 1946. After the ROC government relocated to Taipei in 1949, the BOT fulfilled the role of a central bank until the ROC's central bank was re-established on July 1, 1961. Before July 1, 2000, the BOT also issued the ROC currency, the New Taiwan Dollar (xin taibi 新台幣, abbrev. NT$). On Dec. 8, 1978 the Legislative Yuan passed the revised Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (guanli waihui tiaoli 管理外匯條例) under which the NT$ was no longer pegged to the US$.

In the course of a government financial reform the BOT merged with the Central Trust of China (zhongyang xintuoju 中央信託局) on July 1, 2007 and became part of the Taiwan Financial Holding Co. Ltd. (TFH) on Jan. 1, 2008.

BOT chairpersons since 1946

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
7/1946—1/1950Yen Chia-kan 嚴家淦1905-1993Jiangsu
1/1950—3/1951Jen Hsien-chun 任顯群1912-1975Jiangsu
3/1951—2/1952P. Y. Shu 徐柏園1903-1980Zhejiang
2/1952—4/1953O. K. Yui 俞鴻鈞1897-1960Guangdong
4/1953—7/1960T. K. Chang 張茲闓1900-1983Guangdong
7/1960—1/1963 Yin Chung-jung 尹仲容1903-1963Hunan
1/1963—3/1963Chow Hong-tao 周宏濤1916-2004Zhejiang
3/1963—1/1964Chen Ching-yu 陳慶瑜1901-1981Jiangsu
1/1964—9/1976Chen Mien-hsiu 陳勉修N/AN/A
9/1976—5/1980Ma Chao-kui 馬兆奎b. 1910, d. N/AHebei
5/1980—11/1986Liu Shih-cheng 劉師誠b. 1916, d. N/AHunan
11/1986—7/1990Sun Yi-hsuan 孫義宣b. 1920, d. N/AZhejiang
7/1990—3/1995Sheu Yuan-dong 許遠東1927-1998Taiwan
3/1995—4/1995 @Li Wen-hsiung 李文雄N/AN/A
4/1995—5/2000James C. T. Lo 羅際棠b. 1930Taiwan
6/2000—4/2004Chen Mu-tsai 陳木在b. 1945Taiwan
4/2004—6/2004 @Yang Tzu-chiang 楊子江N/AN/A
6/2004—1/2006Joseph C. Lyu 呂桔誠b. 1956Taiwan
1/2006—2/2006 @Richard Lee Ruey-tsang 李瑞倉b. 1950Taiwan
2/2006—1/2007Hsu Teh-nan 許德南b. 1943Taiwan
1/2007—7/2008Tsai Jer-shyong 蔡哲雄b. 1945Taiwan
7/2008—9/2013Susan Chang 張秀蓮b. 1948Taiwan
7/2012—7/2013Liu Teng-cheng 劉燈城b. 1950Taiwan
7/2013—8/2013William Tseng Ming-chung 曾銘宗b. 1959Taiwan
9/2013—8/2016Lee Jih-chu 李紀珠b. 1960Taiwan
8/2016—Joseph C. Lyu 呂桔誠b. 1956Taiwan

BOT presidents since 1946

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
5/1946—12/1948Chang Wu 張武N/AN/A
12/1948—3/1951Chu Ching-chou 瞿荊洲N/AN/A
2/1951—7/1960Wang Chung 王鍾N/AN/A
7/1960—3/1963Chou Yu-jui 周友端1904-1972Zhejiang
3/1963—8/1972Mo Sung-nien 毛松年1911-2005Guangdong
8/1972—12/1972Wang Chen-chou 王鎮宙N/AN/A
12/1972—2/1973 @Wang Yuan 汪元N/AN/A
2/1973—2/1978Ronald H. C. Ho 何顯重b. 1924Hunan
2/1978—5/1980Yang Cheng-hou 楊承厚b. 1915, d. N/ALiaoning
7/1980—1/1982Wilson C. P. Yen 嚴雋寶b. 1919Jiangsu
1/1982—7/1985Wang Chih-tao 王志道N/AN/A
7/1985—3/1988Hsieh Jen-tung 謝仁棟b. 1927Fujian
3/1988—2/1994Pu Chen-ming 卜正明b. 1930Shanghai
2/1994—1/1995M. H. Tsai 蔡茂興b. 1939Taiwan
1/1995—7/1996Li Wen-hsiung 李文雄N/AN/A
7/1996—9/2001Ho Kuo-hua 何國華N/AN/A
9/2001—10/2006Lii Sheng-yann 李勝彥N/AN/A
10/2006—1/2007 @Hsu Teh-nan 許德南b. 1943Taiwan
1/2007—7/2009Peter T. C. Lo 羅澤成b. 1947Taiwan
7/2009—1/2010Tsai Fu-chi 蔡富吉N/AN/A
1/2010—9/2013Chang Ming-daw 張明道b. 1953N/A
9/2013—3/2014 @Chiou Ye-chin 邱月琴N/AN/A
3/2014—8/2016Hsiao Chang-jui 蕭長瑞N/AN/A
8/2016—8/2018Wei Jan-lin 魏江霖N/AN/A
8/2018—10/2020Chiou Ye-chin (second time)
11/2020—Hsu Chih-wen 許志文b. N/AN/A

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Taiwania Capital Management Corporation

Taiwania Capital Management Corporation 台杉投資管理顧問股份有限公司
18 F., No. 333 Keelung Road Sec. 1,
Xinyi District, Taipei City 11012, Taiwan ROC
[11012 台北市信義區基隆路 1 段 333 號 18 樓(國際貿易大樓)]
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🌏 Taiwania Capital Management Corporation – Web link

The Taiwania Capital Management Corporation (taishan touzi guanli guwen gufen youxian gongsi 台杉投資管理顧問股份有限公司, 🏁—dongshizhang 董事長) was set up on Aug. 18, 2017 by the Cabinet as a national investment company to speed up the pace of local investment in areas such as railway construction, renewable energy, water resources development and digital technology. Another senior position in the company is president (zong jingli 總經理). The company gained official approval on Aug. 25, 2017, and its the largest shareholder is the National Development Fund (guojia fazhan jijin 國家發展基金/NDF).

Taiwania Capital Management Corporation chairman

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
8/2017—Wu Rong-i 吳榮義b. 1939Taiwan

Taiwania Capital Management Corporation president

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
8/2017—David Weng 翁嘉盛b. N/ATaiwan

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Taiwan Asset Management Corporation (TAMCO)

Taiwan Asset Management Corporation (TAMCO) 台灣金聯資產管理股份有限公司
12 F., No. 85 Nanjing East Road Sec. 2,
Zhongshan District, Taipei City 10407, Taiwan ROC
[10407 台北市中山區南京東路 2 段 85 號 12 樓]
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🌏 TAMCO – Web link

TAMCO (Taiwan jinlian zichan guanli gufen youxian gongsi 台灣金聯資產管理股份有限公司, abbrev. Taiwan jinlian 台灣金聯, 🏁—dongshizhang 董事長) was established on May 22, 2001 by the ROC MOF and the Bankers Association of the ROC (Zhonghua minguo yinhang gonghui 中華民國銀行公會) as a state-funded bad loan operator. Another senior position in TAMCO is president (zong jingli 總經理).

TAMCO chairpersons

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
5/2001—6/2004Lin Chen-kuo 林振國b. 1937Fujian
6/2004—6/2007Wang Rong-jou 王榮周b. 1946Taiwan
6/2007—7/2008Hung San-hsiung 洪三雄N/AN/A
7/2008—3/2010Chen Sung-chu 陳松柱N/AN/A
3/2010—6/2010 @Chao Jung-fang 趙榮芳N/AN/A
6/2010—7/2012Leon Shen 沈臨龍b. 1951Jiangsu
7/2012—1/2013 @John Chou 周叔璋N/AN/A
1/2013—6/2016Hwang Ding-fang 黃定方N/AN/A
6/2016—10/2015Philip Chen 陳永誠N/AN/A
10/2015—6/2017 @S. M. Lin 林盛茂N/AN/A
6/2017—12/2018Cheng Ming-hua 鄭明華N/AN/A
12/2018Lin Mei-chu 林美珠b. 1953Guangdong
12/2018— @Kuo Wen-jin 郭文進b. N/AN/A

TAMCO presidents

Tenure started Name Born/Died Native Province
5/2001Lin Cheng-tao 林政道N/AN/A
5/2006Liao Shi-shun 廖錫勳N/AN/A
2/2010Chao Jung-fang 趙榮芳N/AN/A
11/2012S. M. Lin 林盛茂N/AN/A
8/2017—Kuo Wen-jin 郭文進b. N/AN/A

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◆ The ROC military


Introduction

History

The ROC military can be traced back to times when China was divided in the 1916–1928 Warlord Period; an era when political power grew out of the barrel of a gun, so to speak. In the early 1920s there were two groups who claimed to be the legitimate ROC government, one based in Beijing and the other based in Guangzhou. The group in Guangzhou, led by Sun Yat-sen, lacked the military might to defeat the warlords. Following exchanges with Comintern, Sun's KMT formed an alliance with the CCP in June 1923, and the cooperation with Comintern and CCP led to the opening of the Whampoa Academy (ROCMA) in May 1924. About half a year after the establishment of ROCMA, CCP heavyweight Zhou Enlai 周恩來 (1898-1976) was appointed director (zhuren 主任) of the academy's political department (zhengzhibu 政治部). Although the KMT–CCP alliance started weakening with the Zhongshan Warship Incident (Zhongshan jian shijian 中山艦事件) of March 20, 1926 and eventually broke apart in April 1927, ROCMA's work lay the foundation for the creation of modern armed forces which brought the Warlord Period to an end and restored national unity of the ROC after the successful completion of the Northern Expedition (beifa zhanzheng 北伐戰爭) between June 1926 and July 1928.

Leadership outline

The national defense organization is based on a unified command of the armed forces. The ROC president is the armed forces' supreme commander, as laid out in the ROC constitution. The MND minister is the cabinet member responsible for formulating national defense policies and plans. After the plans have been approved by the president, the MND minister acquires manpower, budget and support from the various ministries and departments of the Executive Yuan required for carrying out the plans by the chief of general staff, under the minister's supervision. The annual defense budget is subject of approval by the ROC Legislative Yuan.

— — — Flag of the ROC Ministry of National Defense (MND) — — —

It should be pointed out that in addition to the strict principle of civilian control over the military (wenren lingjun 文人領軍), another important aspect of the ROC armed forces is political neutrality. In order to ensure that the armed forces remain politically neutral, the MND in recent years has taken diverse measures. In September 2002, it was decreed that active-duty servicemen and cadets are not allowed to participate in activities organized by political parties or organizations on or off duty. Since December 2005, all levels of military personnel are forbidden from taking part in political activities without first obtaining permission.

Main tasks

Since the founding of ROCMA, the ROC military has been used in combat operations against external and internal enemies alike, most notably the Warlords (1926–1928), Japanese invaders (1931/1937–1945) and Communist insurgents (1945–1949/present). Today, a strong and modern military in Taiwan/the ROC is an indispensable necessity for the following purposes:

  • ensuring the safety of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, protecting the territory of the ROC, its democratic system and the freedom of its citizens, with a special focus on warding off an attack from the PRC military;
  • fending off potential cyber-warfare attacks;
  • upholding homeland security and responding to terrorism;
  • providing rapid-response rescue and relief in times of major natural disasters like earthquakes, typhoons and flooding etc.

Please note that certain tasks pertaining to the ROC territorial waters like cracking down against illegal smuggling activities and standing by to enforce the rights of Taiwanese fishermen operating legally in international waters are not carried out by the ROC Navy but fall in the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard Administration (CGA). Responding to the increased threat to Taiwan posed by the PRC, some CGA vessels are currently being equipped with anti-ship missile launchers in order to integrate naval forces, coast guard ships and sea cruisers under a "peace-to-war conversion" plan that makes the most of the ROC's maritime resources.

Incessant threat—the PRC

Although Taiwan's relations with neighbouring countries are at times marred by tensions and conflicts, e. g. confrontations in connection with fishery rights in disputed waters like with Japan in the East China Sea or with the Philippines in the South China Sea, the main threat for Taiwan is an attack from the PRC. Until the 1970s the threat was mutual—the ROC strived for 'recovery of the mainland' (guangfu dalu 光復大陸), the PRC for 'liberating Taiwan' (jiefang Taiwan 解放台灣). But while the ROC eventually ruled out the use of force as a legitimate way for settling disputes between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait by the 1990s, the PRC has not reciprocated and refuses to renounce the threat of using force to unite Taiwan with the mainland (wutong 武統). For this reason, there is a broad consensus among the population of the Taiwan area that the country needs to uphold a strong, modern military as a credible, effective deterrent against a potential attack from the PRC. Contrasting Beijing's aggressive attitude, Taipei's military preparations are purely defensive to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and beyond as a PRC attack against Taiwan would upset peace in the Asia-Pacific region.

 An indicator for the level of threat the PRC poses not only for Taiwan but for all countries in the Asia-Pacific region (especially those claiming territory in the South China Sea), Japan and the US is the budget the PRC allocates for the ongoing rapid expansion and modernization of its military. Since the start of the millennium, annual increases of the PRC’s military expenses as decided by the PRC National People’s Congress (quanguo renmin daibiao dahui 全國人民代表大會, abbrev. quanguo renda 全國人大 in Chinese and NPC in English) keep making global headlines. The table directly below shows the annual hikes of military spending as announced by PRC state media.

YearGrowth YearGrowth YearGrowth YearGrowth
1997 12.7 %  2004 11.6 %  2011 12.7 %  2018 8.1 % 
199812.8 % 200512.6 % 201211.2 % 20197.5 %
199912.7 % 200614.7 % 201310.7 % 20206.6 %
200017.7 % 200717.8 % 201412.2 % 20216.8 %
200117.7 % 200817.6 % 201510.1 % 20227.1 %
200217.6 % 200914.9 % 20167.6 % 20237.2 %
20039.6 % 20107.5 % 20177 %

Detailed figures for each year prior to 1997 are not available, but an article published in 2013 in The China Quarterly offers the following data concerning the PRC defense budget growth rate:

  • 1980-1989 (annual average): 1.6 % at current prices, -3.2 % at constant prices (base year = 1980)
  • 1990-1999 (annual average): 15.7 % at current prices, 7.8 % at constant prices (base year = 1980)
  • 2000-2009 (annual average): 16.5 % at current prices, 12.5 % at constant prices (base year = 1980)
Source: Adam P. Liff and Andrew S. Erickson. Demystifying China’s Defence Spending: Less Mysterious in the Aggregate. The China Quarterly, Vol. 216 (December 2013), pp. 805-830

* * * SEE ALSO * * *

More relevant contents pertaining to cross-Strait relations can be found on the following pages of this website.

🔴 "Introduction Taiwan/ROC", Cross-Strait relations since the late 1970s—an overview
🔴 "Ministries and cabinet agencies", Mainland Affairs Council (MAC)
🔴 "Other central government agencies", Handling of the Cross-Strait relations
🔴 "Foreign relations of the ROC", ROC vs. PRC since the 1970s

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ROC defense budget

The table below shows the national defense portion under net government expenditures of all levels on the website "National Statistics" of the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

FY Total Defense % FY Total Defense %
1976 146,594 37,013 25.2486 2014 2,645,712 291,418 11.0147
1981 425,731 104,623 24.5749 2015 2,645,189 304,636 11.5166
1991 1,275,613 227,099 17.8031 2016 2,745,305 314,847 11.4685
2001 2,271,755 247,597 10.8989 2017 2,778,361 304,632 10.9644
2006 2,214,226 234,699 10.5995 2018 2,845,491 308,571 10.8442
2011 2,612,947 288,889 11.0560 2019 2,911,648 321,506 11.0420
2012 2,677,984 303,903 11.3482 2020 3,241,989 341,049 10.5197
2013 2,665,241 292,646 10.9800 2021 3,359,420 371,154 11.0481

Net expenditures at all levels (unit: million NT$); percentages calculated by the chief researcher; "FY" stands for fiscal year.

 For comparison the table below shows the national defense portion under net government expenditures of all levels by administrative affair (amount in NT$ million, and percentage of total government expenses) as it was presented in the Taiwan Statistical Data Book 2019 published by the National Development Council (NDC).

FY Amount % FY Amount %
1955 3,173 49.5 2006 234,699 10.6
1960 5,962 49.4 2008 262,150 11.2
1965 9,190 41.1 2010 286,929 11.2
1970 17,628 37.3 2011 288,889 11.1
1975 30,231 24.5 2012 303,903 11.3
1980 103,141 30.3 2013 292,646 11.0
1985 135,243 24.8 2014 291,418 11.0
1990 210,974 19.2 2015 304,636 11.5
1995 269,960 14.1 2016 314,847 11.5
2000 357,757 11.4 2017 304,632 11.0
2002 225,243 10.5 2018 308,571 10.8
2004 253,019 11.3

The next table lists the defense budget proportion of total central government budget for each fiscal year (FY) as shown in the ROC/Taiwan Yearbooks 1995-2011. The right column marked with "%" represents the respective percentage share.

FY % FY % FY %
1985  53.0  1994  24.28  2003  15.52 
1986 51.9 1995 24.51 2004 16.53
1987 50.8 1996 22.76 2005 16.08
1988 49.2 1997 22.51 2006 16.07
1989 47.7 1998 22.43 2007 18.72
1990 35.2 1999 21.60 2008 19.51
1991 31.8 2000 17.41 2009 17.61
1992 27.7 2001 16.48 2010 17.34
1993 25.3 2002 16.37 2011 16.46

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The General Staff

The General Staff (guofangbu canmou benbu 國防部參謀本部, 🏁—canmou zongzhang 參謀總長) of the ROC's armed forces is a unit under the ROC MND. The following are subordinate organizations under the General Staff:

  Communications Development Office (dianxun fazhanshi 電訊發展室)
  Military Intelligence Bureau (junshi qingbaoju 軍事情報局, abbrev. MIB)
  Information, Communication and Electronic Warfare Command (zitong dianjun zhihuibu 資通電軍指揮部), which was expanded on June 29, 2017 from the original Information and Electronic Warfare Command (zidian zuozhan zhihuibu 資電作戰指揮部) and renamed

There are also two allocated organizations (bianpei jigou 編配機構) under the General Staff—the Military Police Command and the Reserve Command (details see below). Furthermore, there was an Air Defense Missile Command (fangkong feidan zhihuibu 防空飛彈指揮部) in the past which was merged with the ROC Air Force on March 1, 2017.

The flag of the ROC MND General Chief of Staff, the emblem of the ROC Military Police (ROCMP) and the emblem of the ROC Armed Forces Reserve Command (AFRC) are shown directly below.

General Chief of Staff ROCMP ROC AFRC

Chiefs of General Staff (CGS)

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
1928–1929Li Jishen 李濟深1885-1959Guangxi/Jiangsu
3/1929—5/1929Ho Ying-chin 何應欽1890-1987Guizhou
1929–1932Chu Pei-teh 朱培德1889-1937Yunnan
1932–1935Chiang Kai-shek 蔣介石1887-1975Zhejiang
1935–1938Cheng Chien 程潛1882-1968Hunan
1/1938—5/1946Ho Ying-chin (second time)
6/1946—5/1948Chen Cheng 陳誠1898-1965Zhejiang
5/1948—3/1950Ku Chu-tong 顧祝同1893-1987Jiangsu
3/1950—6/1954Chow Chih-jou 周至柔1898-1986Zhejiang
7/1954—8/1954 Kuei Yung-ching 桂永清1900-1954Jiangxi
8/1954—6/1957Peng Meng-chi 彭孟緝1908-1997Hubei
7/1954—6/1959Wang Shu-ming 王叔銘1905-1998Shandong
7/1959—6/1965Peng Meng-chi (second time)
7/1965—6/1967Ni Yue-si 黎玉璽1912-2003Sichuan
7/1967—6/1970Kao Kuei-yuan 高魁元1907-2012Shandong
7/1970—6/1976Lai Ming-tang 賴名湯1911-1984Jiangxi
7/1976—11/1981Soong Chang-chih 宋長志1916-2002Liaoning
12/1981—12/1989Hao Pei-tsun 郝柏村1919-2020Jiangsu
12/1989—12/1991Chen Hsing-ling 陳燊齡1924-2017Beijing
12/1991—6/1995Liu Ho-chien 劉和謙b. 1926Anhui
7/1995—3/1998Lo Pen-li 羅本立1927-2018Anhui
3/1998—1/1999Frank Tang 唐飛b. 1932Jiangsu
2/1999—1/2002Tang Yiau-ming 湯曜明1940-2021Taiwan
2/2002—5/2004Lee Jye 李傑b. 1940Tianjin
5/2004—1/2007Lee Tien-yu 李天羽b. 1946Shandong
2/2007—2/2009Huo Shou-yeh 霍守業b. 1943Henan
2/2009—1/2013Lin Jan-yi 林鎮夷b. 1945Guizhou
1/2013—8/2013Yen Ming 嚴明b. 1949Jiangxi
8/2013—1/2015Kao Kuang-chi 高廣圻b. 1950N/A
1/2015—11/2016Yen De-fa 嚴德發b. 1952Taiwan/Jiangsu
12/2016—4/2017Chiu Kuo-cheng 邱國正b. 1953Taiwan/Jiangsu
5/2017—6/2019Lee Hsi-min 李喜明b. 1955Taiwan
7/2019—1/2020 Shen Yi-ming 沈一鳴1957-2020Taiwan
1/2020 @Liu Chih-pin 劉志斌b. 1962Taiwan
1/2020—6/2021Huang Shu-kuang 黃曙光b. 1957Taiwan
7/2021—4/2023Chen Pao-yu 陳寶餘b. 1958Fujian
5/2023—Mei Chia-shu 梅家樹b. 1963N/A

ROC Military Police Command

The ROC Military Police Command (guofangbu xianbing zhihuibu 國防部憲兵指揮部) was established on Jan. 16, 1932 and is in charge of the ROCMP (Zhonghua minguo xianbing 中華民國憲兵, 🏁—zhihuiguan 指揮官). Before Jan. 1, 2013 the agency's Chinese name was xianbing silingbu 憲兵司令部, and its commander's official Chinese title was siling 司令.

Commanders of the ROC Military Police (ROCMP)

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
1/1932—11/1940Ku Cheng-lun 谷正倫1889-1953Guizhou
1/1941—3/1943Ho Kuo-kuang 賀國光1885-1969Hubei
3/1943—2/1950 Chang Chen 張鎮1900-1950Hunan
2/1950—9/1954Huang Chen-wu 黃珍吾1901-1969Guangdong
9/1954—9/1955Lo Yu-lun 羅友倫1912-1994Guangdong
9/1955—5/1957Liu Wei 劉煒1907-1969Guangdong
5/1957—7/1963Yin Chun 尹俊1909-1987Hunan
7/1963—3/1965Lee Yun-cheng 李運成1910-1987Hunan
3/1965—2/1968Wu Hui-sheng 吳輝生1909-1985Guangdong
2/1968—6/1972Wang Yung-shu 王永樹1910-1989Zhejiang
7/1972—1/1974 Lo Yang-pien 羅揚鞭1915-1974Hunan
1/1974—1/1975Wang Ching-hsu 汪敬煦1918-2011Zhejiang
1/1975—8/1978Meng Shu-mei 孟述美1916-1986Haina
9/1978—6/1984Liu Ching-ti 劉罄敵1920-1998Hunan
7/1984—4/1985Pai Lung-kuei 柏隆鑎N/AN/A
5/1985—12/1989Chou Chung-nan 周仲南b. 1932Jiangsu
12/1989—7/1992Wang Jo-yu 王若愚b. 1932Shandong
8/1992—6/1996Tsao Wen-sheng 曹文生1943-2022Hunan
7/1996—3/1998Wang Yi-tien 王詣典b. 1945Anhui
4/1998—8/2001Yang Yu-tsun 楊雨村N/AN/A
9/2001—2/2002Chiu Chung-nan 邱忠男N/AN/A
2/2002—5/2004Yu Lien-fa 余連發b. 1947Taiwan
6/2004—3/2006Shen Shih-chi 沈世籍b. 1951Jiangxi
4/2006—5/2007Lu Tai-sheng 盧台生N/AN/A
6/2007—5/2009Ho Yung-chien 何雍堅b. 1951Taiwan
6/2009—5/2011Lee Hsiang-chou 李翔宙b. 1952Taiwan
5/2011—6/2011 @Kao Yao-pin 高耀斌N/AN/A
7/2011—3/2012Chang Ching-hsiang 張慶翔b. 1952Taiwan
4/2012—9/2015Wu Ying-ping 吳應平N/AN/A
9/2015—8/2018Hsu Chang 許昌N/AN/A
9/2018—6/2019Mo You-ming 莫又銘N/AN/A
6/2019—7/2019Chung Shu-ming 鍾樹明N/AN/A
7/2019 @Feng Yi 馮毅N/AN/A
8/2019—Huang Ching-tsai 黃金財b. 1963Taiwan

ROC Armed Forces Reserve Command (AFRC)

The ROC AFRC (guofangbu houbei zhihuibu 國防部後備指揮部, 🏁—houbei zhihuiguan 後備指揮官) under the MND was created on March 1, 2002 in the process of thorough restructuring of the ROC military which started when the Taiwan Garrison Command was disbanded on Aug. 1, 1992 and replaced with two agencies, one of them being the Military Reserve District Command (junguanqu silingbu 軍管區司令部) which preceded the AFRC. Before Jan. 1, 2013 the agency's Chinese name was houbei silingbu 後備司令部, and its commander's official Chinese title was houbei siling 後備司令.

Commanders of the ROC Armed Forces Reserve Command (AFRC)

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
8/1992—6/1996Wang Jo-yu 王若愚b. 1932Shandong
7/1996—1/1998John Li Chien-chung 李建中b. 1947Shanghai
2/1998—1/1999Chen Jen-hsiang 陳鎮湘b. 1942Anhui
2/1999—2/2002Chin En-ching 金恩慶b. 1944Jiangxi
2/2002—1/2003Chen Pang-chih 陳邦治b. 1942Taiwan
2/2003—8/2003Hsieh Jainn-dong 謝建東b. 1945Fujian
9/2003—3/2004Hsueh Shih-ming 薛石民b. 1943Jiangsu
4/2004—5/2005Chen Ti-duan 陳體端b. 1948Shanghai
6/2005—5/2008Yu Lien-fa 余連發b. 1947Taiwan
6/2008—9/2008 @Lee Ming-teng 李銘藤b. 1952Taiwan
10/2008—5/2011Chen Liang-jun 陳良濬b. 1951Taiwan
5/2011—8/2012Chiu Kuo-cheng 邱國正b. 1953Taiwan/Jiangsu
9/2012—12/2012 @Bi Hsueh-wen 畢學文N/AN/A
1/2013—12/2013Wang Shih-tu 王世塗N/AN/A
1/2014—6/2015Bi Hsueh-wen (second time)
7/2015—9/2017Tang Chia-kun 湯家坤N/AN/A
10/2017—6/2019Chou Hau-yu 周皓瑜b. 1959Taiwan
7/2019—Chiang Chen-chung 姜振中b. 1962N/A

 
* * * SEE ALSO * * *

More relevant contents pertaining to that subject can be found on the following page of this website.

🔴 "Ministries and cabinet agencies", Ministry of National Defense (MND)

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National Security Bureau (NSB)

National Security Bureau (NSB) 國家安全局
No. 110 Yangde Boulevard Sec. 1,
Shilin District, Taipei City 11149, Taiwan ROC
[11149 台北市士林區仰德大道 1 段 110 號]
————————————
🌏 NSB – Web link

The NSB (guojia anquanju 國家安全局, abbrev. guoanju 國安局, 🏁— juzhang 局長) was established on March 1, 1955. With the exception of Shi Hwei-yow, all NSB director-generals were active or retired high-ranking military officers.

NSB director-generals

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
8/1954—12/1959 Cheng Jie-min 鄭介民1898-1959Guangdong
12/1959—11/1962Chen Ta-ching 陳大慶1905-1973Jiangxi
12/1962—6/1967Hsia Chi-ping 夏季屏1908-1977Jiangsu
7/1967—6/1972Chou Chung-feng 周中峰1918-1985Shandong
7/1972—11/1981Wang Yung-shu 王永樹1910-1989Zhejiang
12/1981—12/1985Wang Ching-hsu 汪敬煦1918-2011Zhejiang
12/1985—7/1993Soong Hsin-lian 宋心濂1922-1995Anhui
8/1993—1/1999Yin Tsung-wen 殷宗文1932-2003Jiangsu
2/1999—8/2001Ting Yu-chou 丁渝洲b. 1944Shandong
8/2001—3/2004Henry Tsai 蔡朝明b. 1941Taiwan
4/2004—2/2007Hsueh Shih-ming 薛石民b. 1943Jiangsu
2/2007—5/2008Shi Hwei-yow 許惠祐b. 1952Taiwan
6/2008—3/2009Henry Tsai (second time)
3/2009—5/2014Tsai Teh-sheng 蔡得勝b. 1949Taiwan
5/2014—7/2015Lee Hsiang-chou 李翔宙b. 1952Taiwan
7/2015—10/2016Yang Kuo-chiang 楊國強N/AHenan
10/2016—7/2019Peng Sheng-chu 彭勝竹b. 1950Hubei
7/2019 @Ko Cheng-heng 柯承亨b. 1962N/A
7/2019—2/2021Chiu Kuo-cheng 邱國正b. 1953Taiwan/Jiangsu
2/2021—1/2023Chen Min-tong 陳明通b. 1955Taiwan
1/2023—Tsai Ming-yen 蔡明彥b. N/AN/A

The NSB is sometimes confused with the National Security Council, an agency under the ROC presidential office. Although the NSB is a subordinate agency under the National Security Council, it can bypass the National Security Council and report directly to the ROC President.

* * * SEE ALSO * * *

More information about the National Security Council can be found on the following page of this website.

🔴 "ROC Presidency", Secretary-generals of the National Security Council

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The three services—commanders and units

Like armed forces in other countries, Taiwan's military has three traditional branches of service—Army (lujun 陸軍), Navy (haijun 海軍), and Air Force (kongjun 空軍). With bases at locations around Taiwan and on smaller islands, the Army safeguards areas of strategic importance. The Navy conducts maritime patrols to maintain security in the ROC's territorial waters. The Air Force's prime mission is to safeguard the nation's airspace.

The three services have the following units, listed to their size:
✿  Army—army (juntuan 軍團), division (shi 師), brigade ( 旅), battalion (ying 營), company (lian 連), and platoon (pai 排);
✿  Navy—naval fleet command (jiandui silingbu 艦隊司令部), fleet (jiandui 艦隊), group (zhandui 戰隊), and ship (jian 艦);
✿  Air Force—operations command (zuozhan silingbu 作戰司令部), wing (liandui 聯隊), group (dadui 大隊), squadron (zhongdui 中隊), and flight (fendui 分隊). One notable unit was the Black Bat Squadron (hei bianfu zhongdui 黑蝙蝠中隊) which conducted missions over enemy territory between 1952 and 1974.

In addition, the ROC Marine Corps is the amphibious arm of the ROC Navy. It has the following units, listed to their size: Marine Corps HQ (haijun luzhandui zhihuibu 海軍陸戰隊指揮部), marine division (shi 師), regiment (tuan 團), battalion (ying 營), company (lian 連), and platoon (pai 排). The ROC Marine Corps School (Zhonghua minguo haijun luzhandui xuexiao 中華民國海軍陸戰隊學校) was opened on Aug. 1, 1952.

The emblems of the ROC Army, Navy, Air Force as well as of the ROC Marine Corps are shown below.

Army Navy Air Force Marine Corps

The respective commander's title was changed from ROC Army C-in-C (lujun zongsiling 陸軍總司令) to ROC Army Commander (lujun siling 陸軍司令) on Feb. 16, 2006, from ROC Navy C-in-C (haijun zongsiling 海軍總司令) to ROC Navy Commander (haijun siling 海軍司令) on Jan. 1, 2006, and from ROC Air Force C-in-C (kongjun zongsiling 空軍總司令) to ROC Air Force Commander (kongjun siling 空軍司令) on Jan. 1, 2006. As for the ROC Marine Corps, its commander's title was changed from ROC Marine Corps C-in-C (haijun luzhandui silingbu siling 海軍陸戰隊司令部司令) to ROC Marine Corps Commander (haijun luzhandui zhihuibu zhihuiguan 海軍陸戰隊指揮部指揮官) on March 1, 2006.

The commanders of the three services and the ROC Marine Corps have been as follows:

Commanders of the ROC Army since 1944

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
12/1944—6/1946Ho Ying-chin 何應欽1890-1987Guizhou
6/1946—5/1948Ku Chu-tong 顧祝同1893-1987Jiangsu
5/1948—2/1949Yu Han-mou 余漢謀1896-1981Guangdong
2/1949—6/1949Chang Fa-kui 張發奎1896-1980Guangdong
6/1949—8/1949Ku Chu-tong (second time)
8/1949—12/1949Kuan Lin-cheng 關麟徵1905-1980Shaanxi
12/1949—3/1950Ku Chu-tong (third time)
3/1950—6/1954Sun Li-jen 孫立人1900-1990Anhui
6/1954—7/1957Huang Chieh 黃杰1902-1995Hunan
7/1957—6/1959Peng Meng-chi 彭孟緝1908-1997Hubei
6/1959—8/1961Lo Lieh 羅列1907-1976Fujian
8/1961—8/1965Liu An-chi 劉安祺1903-1995Shandong
8/1965—6/1967Kao Kuei-yuan 高魁元1907-2012Shandong
7/1967—6/1969Chen Ta-ching 陳大慶1905-1973Jiangxi
7/1969—3/1975Yu Hao-chang 于豪章1918-1999Anhui
3/1975—3/1978Ma An-lan 馬安瀾1916-2001Liaoning
3/1978—11/1981Hao Pei-tsun 郝柏村1919-2020Jiangsu
11/1981—6/1988Chiang Chung-ling 蔣仲苓1922-2015Zhejiang
6/1988—7/1991Huang Hsing-chiang 黃幸強b. 1931Hunan
7/1991—7/1993Cheng Ting-chong 陳廷寵b. 1931Jiangsu
7/1993—7/1996Lee Cheng-lin 李楨林b. 1933Shandong
7/1996—1/1999Tang Yiau-ming 湯曜明1940-2021Taiwan
2/1999—1/2002Chen Jen-hsiang 陳鎮湘b. 1942Anhui
2/2002—5/2004Huo Shou-yeh 霍守業b. 1943Henan
5/2004—2/2006Chu Kai-sheng 朱凱生b. 1945Jiangsu
2/2006—1/2007Hu Chen-pu 胡鎮埔b. 1948Jiangsu
2/2007—2/2009Chaou Shih-chang 趙世璋b. 1948Shandong
2/2009—8/2011Yang Tien-hsiao 楊天嘯b. 1950Anhui
8/2011—1/2014Lee Shying-jow 李翔宙b. 1952Taiwan
1/2014—1/2015Yen De-fa 嚴德發b. 1952Taiwan/Jiangsu
1/2015—11/2016Chiu Kuo-cheng 邱國正b. 1953Taiwan/Jiangsu
11/2016—3/2019Wang Shin-lung 王信龍b. 1960Taiwan/Zhejiang
4/2019—6/2021Chen Pao-yu 陳寶餘b. 1958Fujian
7/2021—Hsu Yen-pu 徐衍璞b. 1961Taiwan

Commanders of the ROC Navy since 1929

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
1929–1932Yang Shu-chuang 楊樹莊1882-1934Fujian
1932—11/1945Chen Shao-kuan 陳紹寬1889-1969Fujian
7/1946—8/1948Chen Cheng 陳誠1898-1965Zhejiang
8/1948—4/1952Kuei Yung-ching 桂永清1900-1954Jiangxi
4/1952—7/1954Ma Chi-chuang 馬紀壯1912-1998Hebei
7/1954—2/1959Liang Hsu-chao 梁序昭1903-1978Fujian
2/1959—1/1965Ni Yue-si 黎玉璽1912-2003Sichuan
1/1965—8/1965Liu Kwang-kai 劉廣凱1914-1991Liaoning
8/1965—7/1970Feng Chi-tsung 馮啟聰1914-1994Guangdong
7/1970—7/1976Soong Chang-chih 宋長志1916-2002Liaoning
7/1976—5/1983Tsou Chien 鄒堅1921-2004Fujian
5/1983—6/1988Liu Ho-chien 劉和謙b. 1926Anhui
6/1988—5/1992Yeh Chang-tung 葉昌桐b. 1929Fujian
5/1992—4/1994Chuang Ming-yao 莊銘耀1929-2002Taiwan
4/1994—4/1997Nelson Ku Chung-lien 顧崇廉1931-2007Jiangsu
4/1997—2/1999Wu Shih-wen 伍世文b. 1934Guangdong
2/1999—2/2002Lee Jye 李傑b. 1940Tianjin
2/2002—2/2005Miao Yung-ching 苗永慶b. 1941Shanxi
2/2005—2/2006Chen Pang-chih 陳邦治b. 1942Taiwan
2/2006—5/2007Lin Jan-yi 林鎮夷b. 1945Guizhou
5/2007—5/2009Wang Li-shen 王立申b. 1946Zhejiang
5/2009—5/2011Kao Kuang-chi 高廣圻b. 1950Taiwan/Jiangsu
5/2011—7/2013Tung Hsiang-lung 董翔龍b. 1952Taiwan
8/2013—1/2015Chen Yeong-kang 陳永康b. 1951Taiwan
1/2015—5/2016Lee Hsi-min 李喜明b. 1955Taiwan
6/2016—1/2020Huang Shu-kuang 黃曙光b. 1957Taiwan
1/2020—6/2022Liu Chih-pin 劉志斌b. 1962Taiwan
6/2022—4/2023Mei Chia-shu 梅家樹b. 1963N/A
5/2023—Tang Hua 唐華b. 1964N/A

Commanders of the ROC Air Force since 1946

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
6/1946—3/1952Chow Chih-jou 周至柔1899-1986Zhejiang
3/1952—7/1957Wang Shu-ming 王叔銘1905-1998Shandong
7/1957—7/1963Chen Chia-shang 陳嘉尚1909-1972Zhejiang
7/1963—7/1967Hsu Huan-sheng 徐煥昇1906-1984Shanghai
7/1967—7/1970Lai Ming-tang 賴名湯1911-1984Jiangxi
7/1970—6/1975Chen I-fan 陳衣凡1912-2008Liaoning
6/1975—8/1977Szeto Fu 司徒福1916-1992Guangdong
8/1977—1/1982Wu Yueh 烏鉞1915-2008Liaoning
1/1982—7/1986Kuo Ju-lin 郭汝霖1920-2010Anhui
7/1986—11/1989Chen Hsing-ling 陳燊齡1924-2017Beijing
11/1989—9/1992Lin Wen-li 林文禮b. 1930Sichuan
9/1992—6/1995Frank Tang 唐飛b. 1932Jiangsu
7/1995—6/1998Huang Hsien-jung 黃顯榮b. 1935Taiwan
6/1998—2/2002Chen Chao-min 陳肇敏b. 1940Taiwan
3/2002—5/2004Lee Tien-yu 李天羽b. 1946Shandong
5/2004—2/2006Liu Kuei-li 劉貴立b. 1943Liaoning
2/2006—7/2007Shen Kuo-chen 沈國禎b. 1948N/A
7/2007—7/2009Peng Sheng-chu 彭勝竹b. 1950Hubei
7/2009—1/2011Lei Yu-chi 雷玉其b. 1951N/A
1/2011—1/2013Yen Ming 嚴明b. 1949Jiangxi
1/2013—1/2015Liu Chen-wu 劉震武b. 1951Taiwan
1/2015—2/2018Shen Yi-ming 沈一鳴1957-2020Taiwan
2/2018—6/2019Chang Che-ping 張哲平b. 1960Taiwan
7/2019—4/2022Hsiung Hou-chi 熊厚基b. 1961Taiwan
4/2022—Liu Jen-yuan 劉任遠b. 1963N/A

Commanders of the ROC Marine Corps since 1947

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
9/1947—7/1950Yang Hou-tsai 楊厚綵1906-2002Hunan
8/1950—3/1955 Chou Yu-huan 周雨寰1912-1955Sichuan
3/1955—3/1957Tang Shou-chih 唐守治1907-1975Hunan
4/1957—12/1960Lo Yu-lun 羅友倫1912-1994Guangdong
1/1961—8/1964Cheng Wei-yuan 鄭為元1913-1993Anhui
9/1964—1/1968Yu Hao-chang 于豪章1918-1999Anhui
1/1968—3/1971Yuan Kuo-wei 袁國徵1917-1982Anhui
3/1971—6/1975Ho En-ting 何恩廷1920-2010Hebei
6/1975—12/1976Kong Ling-cheng 孔令晟1918-2014Jiangsu
12/1976—12/1977 Huang Kuang-lo 黃光洛1920-1977Fujian
12/1977—8/1982Luo Chang 羅張1923-2006Jiangxi
9/1982—3/1985Tu Yu-hsin 屠由信b. 1930Zhejiang
3/1985—5/1988Huang Tuan-hsien 黃端先N/AN/A
5/1988—7/1992Ma Lu-sui 馬履綏b. 1934Shanxi
7/1992—12/1995Cheng Kuo-nan 鄭國南b. 1936N/A
12/1995—5/1998Kao Wang-chueh 高王珏b. 1939Jiangsu
6/1998—8/2000Chen Pang-chih 陳邦治b. 1942Taiwan
9/2000—5/2004Chi Lin-liang 季麟連b. 1947Liaoning
6/2004—4/2006Hsu Tai-sheng 徐台生b. 1949N/A
4/2006—4/2009Hsu Shang-wen 徐尚文b. 1952Taiwan/Zhejiang
4/2009—9/2011Hsia Fu-hua 夏復華N/AN/A
10/2011—10/2014Pan Chin-lung 潘進隆b. 1958Taiwan
10/2014—7/2017Chen Tzu-feng 陳子鳳b. 1959Taiwan
8/2017—7/2022Wang Jui-lin 王瑞麟b. 1963Taiwan/Shandong
7/2022—Matt Ma 馬群超b. N/AN/A

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Personnel of the ROC military

Categories of soldiers

A person in the ROC military may be an enlisted man (shibing 士兵), a non-commissioned officer (shiguan 士官, abbrev. NCO), or an officer (junguan 軍官); he may be a conscript (yiwuyi 義務役) or a volunteer (zhiyuanyi 志願役); and he will have active duty status (changbei 常備) or reserve status (houbei 後備). The officer corps distinguishes between career (regular class) officers (zhengqi junguan 正期軍官), graduates of different specialty training (zhuanke junguan 專科軍官), and officer candidates (yuguan 預官).

The system of military ranks in the ROC armed forces comprises 18 ranks (9 ranks for officers, 6 ranks for NCOs, 3 ranks for enlisted personnel), the rank structure not being completely identical with that in other countries. The military ranks in the ROC armed forces are listed below, shown with the equivalent to the ranks and insignia of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for orientation.

Military rank in ROC armed forces

Officers NATO code
yiji shangjiang 一級上將 /erji shangjiang 二級上將 OF-9
zhongjiang 中將 OF-8
shaojiang 少將 OF-7
shangxiao 上校 OF-5
zhongxiao 中校 OF-4
shaoxiao 少校 OF-3
shangwei 上尉 OF-2
zhongwei 中尉 OF-1
shaowei 少尉 OF-1

NCOs NATO code
yideng shiguanzhang 一等士官長 OR-9
erdeng shiguanzhang 二等士官長 OR-8
sandeng shiguanzhang 三等士官長 OR-7
shangshi 上士 OR-6
zhongshi 中士 OR-5
xiashi 下士 OR-4

Enlisted personnel NATO code
shangdeng bing 上等兵 OR-3
yideng bing 一等兵 OR-2
erdeng bing 二等兵 OR-1

The NCO ranks correspond with the NATO codes OR-4 to OR-9. Please note that the ROC armed forces do not have a rank equivalent to OF-6 (Brigadier General in the US Army, between Colonel and Major General). For comparison, the following list displays the denominations of ranks according to the NATO code in the three main services and the United States Marine Corps (USMC).

NATO Army USMC Air Force Navy
OF-9
General
Admiral
OF-8
Lieutenant General
Vice Admiral
OF-7
Major General
Rear Admiral
OF-5
Colonel
Captain
OF-4
Lieutenant Colonel
Commander
OF-3
Major
Lieutenant Commander
OF-2
Captain
Lieutenant
OF-1
First Lieutenant
Lieutenant Junior Grade
OF-1
Second Lieutenant
Ensign
OR-9
Sergeant Major
Chief Master Sergeant Master Chief Petty Officer
OR-8 Master Sergeant Master Sergeant/
First Sergeant
Senior Master Sergeant Senior Chief Petty Officer
OR-7 Sergeant First Class Gunnery Sergeant Master Sergeant Chief Petty Officer
OR-6
Staff Sergeant
Technical Sergeant Petty Officer First Class
OR-5
Sergeant
Staff Sergeant Petty Officer Second Class
OR-4
Corporal
Senior Airman Petty Officer Third Class
OR-3 Private First Class (PFC) Lance Corporal Airman First Class Seaman
OR-2 Private Private First Class (PFC) Airman Seaman Apprentice
OR-1 Private Basic Private Airman Basic Seaman Recruit

Military settlements

The advance of Communist troops in the Chinese Civil War compelled the ROC government to abandon the mainland and retreat to Taiwan in 1949. After the transfer of an estimated 1.2 million refugees, many of them government and military personnel, available housing was not sufficient to accommodate the new arrivals. The government therefore created hundreds of new clusters with provisional houses which over time became permanent settlements, called "military dependents villages" (juancun 眷村). These settlements were usually constructed with minimal building standards and over the decades fell into disrepair. Today most of these communities that existed all over the country have been torn down. Meanwhile, an awareness has been emerging that this disappearing feature of Taiwan's history and culture is worth preserving, and a Kaohsiung Museum of Military Dependents' Villages (Gaoxiongshi juancun wenhuaguan 高雄市眷村文化館) was established in 2007.

Troop strength

During most of the Martial Law period, the ROC Yearbooks provided no information about troop strength. Data disclosed since the 1980s show that the ROC military has been subject to a process of streamlining which began in the 1990s and is still ongoing. The MND reduced the total number of personnel in the armed forces from 450,000 in 1997 to 380,000 in 2001. The ROC Yearbook 1995 mentioned a Ten-Year Troop Reduction Project (shinian bingli jingjian fang'an 十年兵力精簡方案) from 1994 to 2003. A second stage of of personnel reduction took place in 2002, and by the end of 2005 the ROC Armed Forces Streamlining Program (jingjin'an 精進案) had diminished the number in uniform to 296,000. Between 2004 and 2009 the total number of personnel in the armed forces was slimmed down from 385,000 to 275,000, and again to 215,000 by the end of 2014. The ROC armed forces are further scheduled to be downsized from 215,000 members to ca. 190,000 by the end of 2019. The table below shows information provided in the ROC yearbooks concerning the distribution of troops among the services.

ROC
Yearbook
Page Army Navy
(incl. Marines)
Air Force
1995 160-161 290,000 * 68,000 (30,000) 68,000
2000 129 230,300 * 63,000 (30,000) 64,000
2005 110-111 130,000 53,000 53,000
* Ground forces, mainly those in the Army and the Military Police (xianbing 憲兵)

Please note that in the ROC Yearbook 1993 the troop strength of the National Guard (guominbing 國民兵) was listed at 280,000. The ROC Yearbook 2005 listed the strength of the Military Police at 12,000, and a media report published in April 2023 gave the figure of 5,000 for the size of the Military Police.

Conscription

According to the Act of Military Service System (bingyifa 兵役法) promulgated in 1933, all healthy males in the ROC are liable for military service. The total length of conscript military service before Oct. 1, 2000 was 24 months, after that it was reduced to 22 months. Ever since the duration of mandatory military service has gradually been shortened to 18 months (July 2005), then 16 months (January 2006), in January 2008 it was cut from 14 to 12 months, and amendments to the Act of Military Service System in December 2011 stipulated that beginning in 2013, male citizens born in or after 1994 will only be required to receive 4 months of basic military training and then become reservists.

Responding to the increased military activity and threats by the PRC following US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Taiwan visit in August 2022, ROC MND minister Chiu Kuo-cheng 邱國正 on Oct. 12, 2022 stated that the ROC government was hoping to restore one-year compulsory military service effective 2024. ROC President Tsai Ing-wen on Dec. 27, 2022 announced that mandatory military service will be extended to one year.

Transition to an all-volunteer military

During the 2008 ROC presidential election campaign, then-KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou pledged to phase out conscription and create an all-volunteer military, an effort which was initiated after Ma taking office as "Jingtsui Program" (jingcuian 精粹案). While under initial plans military draft was to cease by 2014, implementation of the program was repeatedly delayed because of an inability to meet recruitment goals. Eventually, the last batch of male conscripts was discharged on Dec. 26, 2018, leaving Taiwan with ca. 180,000 volunteer troops, plus a force of reservists with only four months of military training. Although the end of conscription and switching to an all-volunteer model was favoured by both the KMT and the DPP, calls for reintroducing conscription persist due to the strong and growing threat from the PRC (see above paragraph).

Women in the Armed Forces

In late 2005 the ROC Legislative Yuan passed the revision of the Act of Military Service System (bingyifa 兵役法) to allow women to serve as enlisted personnel, although the military was opened as a professional career option as early as 1991 when twelve military academies began accepting female applicants. Upon graduation, women were generally assigned to the troop units, schools, logistical groups and even Air Force wings of their choice. The first woman ever to achieve the rank of general in the ROC armed forces was Chiang I-ying 姜毅英 (1908-2006, Zhejiang), an intelligence officer who was promoted to major general of the ROC army in March 1946.

Substitute service

Because of strong social demand, alternatives to military service were introduced with the "Enforcement Statute for Substitute Services" (tidaiyi shishi tiaoli 替代役實施條例) which were promulgated on Feb. 2, 2000 and went into effect on July 1, 2000. Categories for substitute service include domestic security (police and fire fighters), social services (in the areas of social work, environmental protection, medicine, and education) and other categories such as culture, land surveying, justice administration, diplomacy, physical education, tourism, economic security, and public administration.

On Dec. 29, 2022 the ROC Executive Yuan announced that conscripts who were born in 2005 and after and opt to fulfill their duties in the alternative military service would only be allowed to do so for family or religious-related reasons, in contrast to the previous regulation according to which those applying for alternative service were evaluated based on their relevant skills, qualifications in research and development, and reasons pertaining to family and religion.

Military exercises

The ROC armed forces are holding joint maneuvers annually like the Han Kuang exercises (hanguang yanxi 漢光演習) which were first staged in 1984 to test combat readiness as well as the joint combat training effectiveness of the three branches of the armed forces. In addition, a series of civil defense drills held annually are the Wan An exercises (wan'an yanxi 萬安演習).

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Military education

The ROCMA is regarded as the top institution among the ROC's five major military academies (sanjun wuxiao 三軍五校), the other four being the following:
National Defense University (guofang daxue 國防大學, abbrev. NDU);
 ROC Naval Academy (Zhonghua minguo haijun junguan xuexiao 中華民國海軍軍官學校);
 ROC Air Force Academy (Zhonghua minguo kongjun junguan xuexiao 中華民國空軍軍官學校); and
 National Defense Medical Center (guofang yixueyuan 國防醫學院, abbrev. NDMC). The Tri-Service General Hospital (sanjun zong yiyuan 三軍總醫院) is the main teaching hospital of the NDMC.

Military education of officers is conducted along two developmental lines—the "all-around" track (tongcai fazhan luxian 通才發展路線) for career soldiers at the ROCMA, the Naval Academy, and the Air Force Academy; and the professional track (zhuanye fazhan luxian 專業發展路線) for specialized military personnel. Candidates for colonel or major general must complete advanced military education at the NDU. Other educational institutes of the ROC armed forces include the following:

  • Air Force Institute of Technology (kongjun hangkong jishu xueyuan 空軍航空技術學院), created on Aug. 1, 1996 when the Air Technical School (kongjun jixie xuexiao 空軍機械學校) and the Air Communications and Electronics School (kongjun tongxin dianzi xuexiao 空軍通信電子學校) were merged;
  • Chung-cheng Armed Forces Preparatory School (Zhongzheng guofang ganbu yubei xuexiao 中正國防幹部預備學校);
  • Army Academy ROC (lujun zhuanke xuexiao 陸軍專科學校);
  • Army Communications, Electronics and Information School (lujun tongxin dianzi zixun xunlian zhongxin 陸軍通信電子資訊訓練中心);
  • ROC Marine Corps School (haijun luzhandui xuexiao 海軍陸戰隊學校); and
  • Military Police Training Center (xianbing xunlian zhongxin 憲兵訓練中心, abbrev. MPTC).

In addition, the ROC Army operates the following three training facilities:

  • Army Infantry School (lujun bubing xuexiao 陸軍步兵學校),
  • Army Armor School (lujun zhuangjiabing xuexiao 陸軍裝甲兵學校), and
  • Army Artillery School (lujun paobing xuexiao 陸軍炮兵學校).

Please note that on Dec. 12, 1996 the ROC government announced the introduction of a Reserve Officers' Training Corps (daxue choubei junguan xunliantuan 大學儲備軍官訓練團, abbrev. ROTC) as a countermeasure to insufficient enrollment in military academies. Implementation of the ROTC plan began in 1997.

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ROC Military Academy (ROCMA)

ROC Military Academy (ROCMA) 中華民國陸軍軍官學校
No. 1 Weiwu Road,
Fengshan District, Kaohsiung City 83059, Taiwan ROC
[83059 高雄市鳳山區維武路 1 號]
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🌏 ROCMA – Web link

The ROCMA (Zhonghua minguo lujun junguan xuexiao 中華民國陸軍軍官學校, 🏁—xiaozhang 校長) opened on May 1, 1924, and a ceremony on June 16, 1924 marked the beginning of classes. At that time the school was called "Whampoa Military Academy" (Huangpu junxiao 黃埔軍校), and its campus was located in Guangzhou. After forces led by Chiang Kai-shek defeated the warlords and the ROC central government restored control over all of China, the school campus moved to Nanjing in March 1928. When the Japanese invaded the Chinese heartland, the academy relocated to Chengdu in August 1938. Following the retreat of the KMT-led ROC government to Taiwan, the school was re-established in Fengshan near Kaohsiung in August 1950.

Please note that the academy was renamed several times—to KMT Military Academy (Zhongguo guomindang dangli lujun junguan xuexiao 中國國民黨黨立陸軍軍官學校) in February 1925, to Central Military Political Academy (zhongyang junshi zhengzhi xuexiao 中央軍事政治學校) in March 1926, to Central Military Academy (zhongyang lujun junguan xuexiao 中央陸軍軍官學校) in March 1928, and its current name was eventually adopted in 1946.

ROCMA superintendents

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
5/1924—10/1947Chiang Kai-shek 蔣介石1887-1975Zhejiang
10/1947—9/1949Kuan Lin-cheng 關麟徵1905-1980Shaanxi
9/1949—12/1949Chang Yao-ming 張耀明1905-1972Shaanxi
8/1950—8/1954Lo Yu-lun 羅友倫1912-1994Guangdong
9/1954—3/1957Hsieh Chao-chi 謝肇齊1905-1995Fujian
4/1957—12/1960Hsu Ju-cheng 徐汝誠1909-1995Zhejiang
1/1961—3/1965Ai Ai 艾靉1906-1982Guangdong
3/1965—3/1970Chang Li-fu 張立夫1912-1980Zhejiang
4/1970—2/1973Lin Chu-yao 林初耀1914-2003Guangdong
2/1973—3/1976Chin Tsu-hsi 秦祖熙b. 1917Hubei
4/1976—12/1977Yen Pai-chien 言百謙1922-2009Zhejiang
12/1977—12/1979Hsu Li-nung 許歷農b. 1921Anhui
12/1979—6/1981Chu Chih-yuan 朱致遠b. 1922Anhui
7/1981—6/1983Lu Kuang-yi 盧光義1928-2010Hunan
7/1983—6/1985Huang Hsing-chiang 黃幸強b. 1931Hunan
7/1985—12/1986Huang Yao-yu 黃耀羽b. 1931Guangdong
12/1986—6/1989Tang Yuan-pu 湯元普b. 1932Jiangsu
7/1989—6/1991Hu Chia-chi 胡家麒b. 1938Jiangsu
7/1991—9/1993Yang Te-chih 楊德智b. 1941Taiwan
9/1993—7/1996Ma Teng-ho 馬登鶴b. 1937Liaoning
7/1996—7/1997Tung Chao-yang 童兆陽1942-2000Zhejiang
7/1997—1/1998Ting Yu-chou 丁渝洲b. 1944Shandong
1/1998—2/2002Chang Yueh-heng 張岳衡b. 1942Liaoning
3/2002—6/2005Yang Kuo-chiang 楊國強N/AHenan
7/2005—6/2006Wang Ken-lin 王根林N/AHubei
7/2006 @Chia Fu-yi 賈輔義b. 1946Liaoning
8/2006—7/2010Chen Liang-pei 陳良沛b. 1955Taiwan
7/2010—7/2012Chuan Tzu-jui 全子瑞N/AN/A
7/2012—2/2015Liu Te-chin 劉得金b. 1962Taiwan
2/2015—9/2017Chang Chieh 張捷N/AN/A
9/2017—12/2018Chen Chung-wen 陳忠文N/AN/A
12/2018—12/2021Chen Chien-yi 陳建義N/AN/A
12/2021—Hou Jia-lun 侯嘉倫b. N/AN/A

So far all superintendents of the academy have been army generals.

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National Defense University (NDU)

National Defense University (NDU) 國防大學
No. 1000 Xingfeng Road,
Bade District, Taoyuan City 33448, Taiwan ROC
[33448 桃園市八德區興豐路 1000 號]
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🌏 NDU – Web link

The NDU (guofang daxue 國防大學, 🏁—xiaozhang 校長) was created on May 8, 2000 by the merger of the Armed Forces University (sanjun daxue 三軍大學)—formed in 1968 when several military research and educational units were united—with the Chung-cheng Institute of Science and Technology (Zhongzheng ligong xueyuan 中正理工學院), the National Defense Medical College (guofang yixueyuan 國防醫學院), and the National Defense Management School (guofang guanli xueyuan 國防管理學院).

NDU presidents

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
11/1964—8/1965Lo Lieh 羅列1907-1976Fujian
8/1965—8/1968Liu An-chi 劉安祺1903-1995Shandong
8/1968—8/1975Yu Pak-chuan 余伯泉1910-1982Guangdong
8/1975—4/1980Wego Chiang 蔣緯國1916-1997<Japan>
4/1980—12/1983Wang To-nien 王多年1913-2004Liaoning
1/1984—4/1987Yen Pai-chien 言百謙1922-2009Zhejiang
5/1987—12/1989Lo Pen-li 羅本立1927-2018Anhui
12/1989—4/1992Wang To-chih 汪多志b. 1930Liaoning
5/1992—4/1994Yeh Chang-tung 葉昌桐b. 1929Fujian
5/1994—6/1996Cheng Pang-chih 程邦治b. 1931Anhui
7/1996—1/1999Lee Cheng-lin 李楨林b. 1933Shandong
2/1999—1/2002Hsia Ying-chou 夏瀛洲b. 1939Shandong
2/2002—8/2003Chen Jen-hsiang 陳鎮湘b. 1942Anhui
9/2003—5/2005Hsieh Jainn-dong 謝建東b. 1945Fujian
6/2005—2/2006Fei Hung-po 費鴻波b. 1944Shandong
2/2006—10/2008Tseng Chin-ling 曾金陵b. 1947Jiangxi
11/2008—5/2011Chin Nai-chieh 金乃傑b. 1949N/A
5/2011—8/2012Chen Yeong-kang 陳永康b. 1951Taiwan
9/2012—7/2014Chiu Kuo-cheng 邱國正b. 1953Taiwan/Jiangsu
8/2014—10/2015Cheng De-mei 鄭德美b. 1955Taiwan/Hainan
11/2015—3/2019Wu Wan-jiao 吳萬教b. 1957Taiwan
4/2019—6/2021Wang Shin-lung 王信龍b. 1960Taiwan/Zhejiang
7/2021—6/2022Chang Che-ping 張哲平b. 1960Taiwan
6/2022—Liu Chih-pin 劉志斌b. 1962Taiwan

Today, NDU has the following seven colleges:

  War College (zhanzheng xueyuan 戰爭學院);
  Army Command and Staff College (lujun zhican xueyuan 陸軍指參學院);
  Navy Command and Staff College (haijun zhican xueyuan 海軍指參學院);
  Air Force Command and Staff College (kongjun zhican xueyuan 空軍指參學院);
  Political Warfare College (zhengzhi zuozhan xueyuan 政治作戰學院, abbrev. zhengzhan xueyuan 政戰學院), created on Sept. 1, 2009 when the former Fu Hsing Kang College (zhengzhi zuozhan xuexiao 政治作戰學校) was placed under the NDU and renamed;
  Management College (guanli xueyuan 管理學院); and
  Institute of Technology (ligong xueyuan 理工學院).

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Equipment of the ROC military

The weapons systems in the arsenal of the ROC armed forces include both armaments purchased abroad and domestically developed equipment. Major foreign suppliers have been the US (F-16 fighter jet planes, Kidd-class destroyers, Apache helicopters etc.), France (Mirage 2000 fighter jets, Lafayette-class frigates etc.) and others.

Over the decades, Taiwan has produced, developed and/or designed several weapons systems, some of them in cooperation with foreign manufacturers. The following list shows a selection of weaponry made in Taiwan.

  • "Kun-wu" anti-tank missile (kunwu feidan 昆吾飛彈) based on the 9M14 Malyutka design;
  • "Kung-feng" [Worker Bee] multiple-launch rocket system (gongfeng huojian 工蜂火箭);
  • "Thunderbolt-2000" multiple-launch rocket system (leiting erlinglingling duoguan huojian xitong 雷霆 2000 多管火箭系統);
  • "Kestrel" shoulder-launched anti-armor rocket (hongzhun fanjia huojian 紅隼反甲火箭);
  • "Hsiung-feng" [Gallant Wind] anti-ship missiles (xiongfeng fanjian feidan 雄風反艦飛彈);
  • "Tien-kung" [Sky Bow] surface-to-air missiles (tiangong fangkong feidan 天弓防空飛彈);
  • "Yun-feng" [Cloud Peak] supersonic surface-to-surface cruise missiles (yunfeng feidan 雲峰飛彈);
  • "Ching-feng" short-range ballistic missile (qingfeng feidan 青鋒飛彈);
  • "Tien-chien" [Sky Sword] infrared-guided missiles (tianjian feidan 天劍飛彈);
  • "Wan-chien" [Ten Thousand Swords] cruise missiles (wanjiandan 萬劍彈);
  • "Teng-yun" [Cloud Rider] MALE/medium-altitude long-endurance drone (tengyun daxing wurenji 騰雲大型無人機);
  • "Jiansiang" anti-radiation drone (jianxiang fanfushe wurenji 劍翔反輻射無人機) aka Taiwanese Harpy, i. e. an anti-radiation loitering munition;
  • "Tzu-chiang" AT-3 jet trainer aircraft (ziqianghao jiaolianji 自強號教練機)—in cooperation with Northrop in the US;
  • F-CK-1 fighter aircraft (jingguohao zhandouji 經國號戰鬥機), aka IDF (= Indigenous Defense Fighter);
  • "Yung-ying" [Brave Eagle] supersonic indigenous Advanced Jet Trainer (yongying gaoji penshe jiaolianji 勇鷹高級噴射教練機, abbrev. AJT) aka T-5;
  • "Cloud Leopard" armored vehicle (yunbao zhuangjiache 雲豹裝甲車), a co-production of Taiwan's Ordnance Readiness Development Center (lujun binggong zhengbei fazhan zhongxin 陸軍兵工整備發展中心, abbrev. bingzheng zhongxin 兵整中心) and Ireland's Timoney Technology Ltd. of Ireland; and
  • "Tuo Jiang" stealth missile corvette (tuojiangji xunluojian 沱江級巡邏艦).

After the IDF was first displayed publicly on Dec. 10, 1988, no major new military aircraft system was developed in the ROC. Since taking office in 2016, the Tsai Ing-wen administration has initiated several projects for development of new modern weapons systems.

  • Blue Magpie—On Feb. 7, 2017 the MND launched a program to build supersonic trainer aircraft when the NCSIST was commissioned to develop XT-5 "Blue Magpie" (lanque 藍鵲) trainers, with the AIDC being tasked to design and build the aircraft which are to be equipped with advanced simulation training systems. A prototype is scheduled for completion in 2019, with test flights expected to take place in 2020, and by 2026 the full complement of 66 aircraft will replace the air force's aging fleet of AT-3 trainers and F-5 fighter jets.
  • Vega—On March 2, 2017 the ROC government announced the "Vega project" (zhinüxing jihua 織女星計畫) to develop and build the next-generation fighter jets, a key component of the government's plan to replace its aging fleet. The prototype of the new fighter jets—including a new advanced engine system based on the IDF's TFE-1042-70 engine—is expected to be introduced in 10 years.
  • Tuo Jiang upgrade—According to recent media reports, there are also plans for the production of an upgraded version of the navy's Tuo Jiang-class stealth corvette that is to incorporate expanded anti-aircraft capabilities—the new vessel type is to be longer, wider and equipped with 3D radar systems and a ship-to-air version of the Tien Chien II guided missile system. The first lot is scheduled to be completed by 2025.

Apart from obtaining modern military hardware, another important goal of these projects is cultivating and retaining talent in order to advance the development of the local defense industry.

Under the surface

A weapons system regarded as essential for fending off an attack of the PRC navy and/or break a naval blockade are submarines. Currently the ROC navy has four such vessels in its fleet:

  • SS-791 "Sea Lion" (haishihao 海獅號): Tench-class submarine (USA), launched as USS Cutlass (SS-478) on Nov. 5, 1944, decommissioned on April 15, 1973; sold to Taiwan and transferred in Florida on April 12, 1973, arrived in Zuoying Naval Base (haijun Zuoying jidi 海軍左營基地) on April 18, 1974;
  • SS-792 "Seal" (haibaohao 海豹號): Balao-class submarine (USA), launched as USS Tusk (SS-426) on July 8, 1945; decommissioned, sold to Taiwan and transferred on Oct. 18, 1973, arrived in Zuoying Naval Base on Jan. 10, 1974;
  • SS-793 "Sea Dragon" (hailonghao 海龍號): Zwaardvis-class attack submarine (Netherlands), launched on Oct. 6, 1986 and commissioned on Oct. 9, 1987 as vessel of the Chien-lung class (jianlongji qianjian 劍龍級潛艦); and
  • SS-794 "Sea Tiger" (haihuhao 海虎號): Zwaardvis-class attack submarine (Netherlands), launched on Dec. 20, 1986 and commissioned on April 9, 1988 as vessel of the Chien-lung class.

Since the 1980s when the Netherlands sold two submarines to the ROC, all further attempts by the ROC to purchase conventional diesel-electric submarines abroad failed due to pressure exerted by the PRC on manufacturers and potential sellers. On April 24, 2001 then-US President George W. Bush authorized the sale of a major arms package to Taiwan which included eight diesel-powered subs, but that part of the deal never materialized as the US themselves had stopped manufacturing such vessels in 1959.

The Tsai Ing-wen administration that took office in May 2016 therefore decided to develop own subs. On March 21, 2017 the ROC Navy, the NCSIST and CSBC Taiwan Corp. signed an MOU to jointly build indigenous submarines for the military, hoping to complete the first vessels within eight years and commission them into service within a decade. On May 9, 2019 a groundbreaking ceremony took place at the Port of Kaohsiung (Gaoxiong gang 高雄港) for the ROC navy's new shipbuilding site (qianjian guozao changqu 潛艦國造廠區) under Taiwan's homegrown submarine project, and a miniature model of the planned indigenous submarine was unveiled. It was announced then that the first prototype would be launched in 2024, and the first combat submarine would be ready one year after that. Construction of the first eight vessels began on Nov. 24, 2020, a keel laying ceremony was held by the ROC Navy on Nov. 16, 2021. On Dec. 26, 2022 CSBC announced that Taiwan's first domestically-developed submarine would be launched by September 2023.

According to a report published in November 2021 by the Taiwan News website, only the two Dutch-made subs (SS-793 and SS-794) could be considered combat-ready, and Taiwan’s current stock of ca. 200 outdated Indonesian-made SUT torpedoes was inadequate as well.

Past nuclear ambitions

The ROC military does not possess nuclear submarines, nor has it an aircraft carrier or nuclear weapons—all of which the PLA has in its arsenal. In the 1960s and 1970s there was a nuclear weapons development program which began in 1967 under the auspices of the INER. After the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found evidence of the ROC's efforts to produce weapons-grade plutonium, Taipei agreed in September 1976 under US pressure to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. Apparently the nuclear ambitions of the ROC did not come to an end then, because in January 2017 disclosures of Chang Hsien-yi 張憲義, a former deputy director of the First Institute of the NCSIST who had defected to the US in 1988, made headlines in Taiwan. Chang claimed that Taiwan had plans to load miniaturized nuclear weapons into auxiliary fuel tanks of IDF jets to attack the PRC, and his fear that 'ambitious politicians might use nuclear weapons' prompted his decision to defect. Chang had been contacted in 1982 by the CIA which also arranged his exit from Taiwan to the US.

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National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST)

National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) 國家中山科學研究院
No. 481 Zhongzheng Road Jia'an Section,
Neighbourhood 6 Jia'an Village,
Longtan Township, Taoyuan County 32546, Taiwan ROC
[32546 桃園縣龍潭鄉佳安村 6 鄰中正路佳安段 481 號]
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🌏 NCSIST – Web link

The NCSIST (guojia zhongshan kexue yanjiuyuan 國家中山科學研究院, abbrev. zhongkeyuan 中科院, 🏁—yuanzhang 院長) was established on July 1, 1969 and is a research and development institution under the ROC MND. The NCSIST has been active in the development of various weapons systems and dual use technologies. Except for its first director Yen Chen-hsing it has consistently been headed by a military officer with the rank of general or admiral in the ROC armed forces. The additional leading position of chairman (dongshizhang 董事會) was created on April 16, 2014 and is filled by the sitting ROC defense minister.

NCSIST directors

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
7/1969—2/1975Yen Chen-hsing 閻振興 c1912-2005Henan
2/1975—11/1982Tang Chun-po 唐君鉑1910-1999Guangdong
11/1982—3/1988Hao Pei-tsun 郝柏村1919-2020Jiangsu
4/1988—9/1988Yeh Chang-tung 葉昌桐N/AN/A
9/1988—10/1989Chiang Chung-ling 蔣仲苓1922-2015Zhejiang
10/1989—6/1995Liu Shu-hsi 劉曙晞N/AN/A
7/1995—5/1996Chou Kan 周敢N/AN/A
6/1996—7/1998Shen Fang-ping 沈方枰N/AN/A
8/1998—7/2001Chen Yu-wu 陳友武b. 1945Zhejiang
7/2001—12/2003Liu Chin-ling 劉金陵N/AN/A
1/2004—5/2004Chang Yuan-pin 張元彬N/AN/A
6/2004—11/2007Kung Chia-cheng 龔家政N/AN/A
12/2007—1/2014Chin Shou-feng 金壽豐N/AN/A
1/2014—4/2017Chang Guan-chung 張冠群N/AN/A
5/2017—Kao Chung-hsing 杲中興b. N/AN/A

The subdivisions of NCSIST include the following administrative units, research divisions and centers:

Administrative units

  Auditing Office (jiheshi 稽核室),
  Financial Affairs Office (caiwushi 財務室),
  Industrial Safety and Health Office (gongan weishengshi 工安衛生室),
  Inspection and Security Office (ducha anquanshi 督察安全室),
  Legal Affairs Office (falü shiwushi 法律事務室),
  Public Relations Office (gonggong guanxishi 公共關係室),
  Secretariat (mishushi 秘書室);
  Advisory Committee (zixun weiyuanhui 諮詢委員會),
  Research & Development Review Committee (yanjiu fazhan tuidonghui 研究發展推動會),
  Strategy Analysis and Development Committee (celüe yanxi ji fazhan weiyuanhui 策略研析暨發展委員會);
  Dual-Use Technology Development Center (juntong zhongxin 軍通中心),
  Management Center (guanli zhongxin 管理中心),
  Operation Center (yingyun zhongxin 營運中心);
  Medical Clinic (yiwusuo 醫務所), and
  Yikunkg Preschool (yiguang youeryuan 逸光幼兒園).

Research divisions

  Aeronautical Systems Research Division (hangkong yanjiusuo 航空研究所),
  Chemical Systems Research Division (huaxue yanjiusuo 化學研究所),
  Electronic Systems Research Division (dianzi xitong yanjiusuo 電子系統研究所),
  Information and Communications Research Division (zixun tongxin yanjiusuo 資訊通信研究所),
  Materials and Electro-Optics Research Division (cailiao ji guangdian yanjiusuo 材料暨光電研究所), and
  Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division (feidan huojian yanjiusuo 飛彈火箭研究所).

Centers

  Information Management Center (zixun guanli zhongxin 資訊管理中心),
  System Development Center (xitong fazhan zhongxin 系統發展中心),
  System Manufacturing Center (xitong zhizao zhongxin 系統製造中心), and
  System Sustainment Center (xitong weihu zhongxin 系統維護中心).

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Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC)

Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) 漢翔航空工業股份有限公司
No. 1 Hanxiang Road,
Xitun District, Taichung City 40760, Taiwan ROC
[40760 台中市西屯區漢翔路 1 號]
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🌏 AIDC – Web link

The AIDC (hanxiang hangkong gongye gongsi 漢翔航空工業公司, 🏁—dongshizhang 董事長) was formally established on July 1, 1996 as a government-owned company under the authority of the MOEA. As an organization, it was preceded by the Aero Industry Development Center (hangkong gongye fazhan zhongxin 航空工業發展中心) which had been founded on March 1, 1969 under the authority of the ROC Air Force and was later transferred to the NCSIST in January 1983. The corporation's privatization was approved on Sept. 13, 2013 by the ROC Executive Yuan, and AIDC was officially listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange starting on Aug. 25, 2014. The MOEA remained AIDC's largest shareholder. The second most senior position in AIDC is president (zong jingli 總經理).

AIDC chairpersons

Tenure (started) Name Born/Died Native Province
3/1969—6/1969Ku Kuang-fu 顧光復1911-2000Jiangsu
6/1969—Y. C. Lee 李永炤1915-2010N/A
11/1982—7/1993Hua Hsi-chun 華錫鈞1925-2017Jiangsu
7/1993—5/1996Lin Wen-li 林文禮b. 1930Sichuan
6/1996—12/2001Tsai Chun-hui 蔡春輝1936-2015Taiwan
3/2002—9/2003Huang Jung-teh 黃榮德N/AN/A
9/2003—2/2004 @Willy Peng 彭元熙N/AN/A
2/2004—5/2006Tony Sun 孫韜玉b. 1943Shandong
5/2006—9/2008Kent Feng 馮世寬b. 1945Jiangsu
10/2008—8/2011Hsing Yu-kuang 邢有光N/AN/A
8/2011—3/2015Jason Liu 劉介岑N/AN/A
3/2015—3/2019Anson Liao 廖榮鑫b. 1955N/A
3/2019—Hu Kai-hung 胡開宏b. N/AN/A

AIDC presidents since 1996

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
1996–1997Wang Shih-sheng 王石生b. 1932N/A
1997–2006Hu Chin 胡謹b. 1950Zhejiang
2006 @Butch Hsu 徐延年N/AN/A
2006—10/2008Lo Cheng-fang 羅正方b. 1965Taiwan
10/2008—2/2012Shiah Yeau-yi 夏友夷N/AN/A
2/2012—2/2016Butch Hsu (second time)
2/2016—7/2017 @Kang Shiah 夏康N/AN/A
7/2017—3/2019Lin Nan-chu 林南助N/AN/A
3/2019—Ma Wan-june 馬萬鈞b. N/AN/A

The company's most noteworthy product is the F-CK-1 Ching-kuo (jingguohao zhanji 經國號戰機) aka "Indigenous Defense Fighter" (zizhi fangyu zhanji 自製防禦戰機, abbrev. IDF) which was manufactured between 1990 and 2000. Its first aircraft were delivered to the ROC Air Force in January 1994, and IDF entered active service in 1997.

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Taiwan Defense Industry Development Association (TW-DIDA)

Taiwan Defense Industry Development Association (TW-DIDA) 台灣國防產業發展協會
Room 412, Building W48, No. 566 Lane 134, Longyuan Road,
Longtan District, Taoyuan City 32544, Taiwan ROC
(NCSIST Long-Yuan Research Park)
[32544 桃園市龍潭區龍源路 134 巷 566 號,
中科院龍園園區 W48 館 412 室]
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🌏 TW-DIDA – Web link

TW-DIDA (Taiwan guofang chanye fazhan xiehui 台灣國防產業發展協會, 🏁—huizhang 會長) was set up on Sept. 27, 2017 by prestigious companies from Taiwan's aerospace, shipbuilding and information security sectors. The Association serves as a helping hand for the implementation of the ROC government's policy of being self-reliant on national defense, and it will also be a facilitator for Taiwan-US defense industry cooperation.

TW-DIDA chairman

Tenure Name Born/Died Native Province
9/2017—Han Pi-hsiang 韓碧祥b. N/AN/A

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