The Taiwan Affairs Office is an administrative agency under the State Council of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is responsible for Cross-Strait relations and sets and implements guidelines and policies related to the Republic of China (Taiwan). Under the "one institution with two names" arrangement, it is equivalent to the Chinese Communist Party's Taiwan Work Office under the CCP Central Committee; the party title is used for party-to-party interactions with Taiwan.
The office promotes Chinese unification and manages activities pertaining to the relationship across the Taiwan Strait and which may require interfacing with the government of Taiwan.[1] These include: preparing for negotiations and agreements; direct mail, transport and trade links; controlling and censoring media and public relations; handling major incidents;[2] economic planning; intergovernmental exchanges and cooperation; personnel exchanges, observers and symposia; and work for international conferences involving Taiwan.
In 2007, the Taiwan Affairs Office established the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland (ATIEM), consisting of Taiwanese businesses operating in mainland China.[3] Prior to the 2012 Taiwanese legislative and presidential elections, ATIEM organized discounted flights to Taiwan for Taishang to vote in Taiwanese elections.[4][5]
