Overseas Community Affairs Council

Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission
僑務委員會
Qiáo Wù Wěiyuánhuì
Logo
Agency overview
Formed October 1926 (in Guangzhou, Republic of China)
Jurisdiction  Republic of China (Taiwan)
Headquarters Zhongzheng, Taipei, Taiwan
Ministers responsible
Parent agency Executive Yuan
Website www.ocac.gov.tw

The Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission (OCAC; Chinese: 僑務委員會; pinyin: Qiáo Wù Wěiyuánhuì) is a cabinet-level council of the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China. Its main objective is to serve as a cultural, education, economic and informational exchanges organization between Taiwan and the overseas Chinese descent communities. Its remit is not limited to expatriates from Taiwan, but includes all ethnic Chinese living in a foreign country who "identify with the Republic of China (ROC)".[1]

With the evolution of the political landscape and the Taiwanese localization movement, the organization now puts emphasis not only in Standard Chinese, but also on Taiwanese, Hakka, and other Taiwanese cultural expressions. It offers information about aboriginal tribes in Taiwan, and its overseas offices may serve, in addition to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Offices.

Organizational structures

  • Department of Policy Research and Development
  • Department of Overseas Chinese Network Services
  • Department of Overseas Chinese Education
  • Department of Overseas Chinese Business
  • Department of Overseas Chinese Student Counseling
  • Secretariat Office
  • Personnel Office
  • Civil Service Ethics Office
  • Accounting and Statistics Office
  • Information Management Office
  • Overseas Chinese News Agency
  • Legal Affairs Committee

Title changes

NameTime in use
Overseas Chinese Affairs CommissionOctober 1926 – April 2006
Overseas Compatriot Affairs CommissionApril 2006 – 1 September 2012
Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission1 September 2012 – 12 November 2012
Overseas Community Affairs CouncilSince 12 November 2012[2]

The English title of the council was changed from "Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission" to "Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission" in 2006, officially to "avoid being confused as a governmental body of the People's Republic of China", under the desinicization policies of President Chen Shui-bian. However, its English acronym OCAC and Chinese name remained the same, to reduce the expense for its official title change. After the Kuomintang renewed its mandate in the 2012 election, the official English name was changed back to the original.

However, in November 2012 there was a controversy when it was discovered that the OCAC used simplified Chinese characters in some of its teaching materials. Amid threats in November 2012 from Democratic Progressive Party legislators to freeze the OCAC's budget, its director relented to demands to rename the OCAC to the ROC (Taiwan) Overseas Community Affairs Council.[1]

Ministers

Wu Hsin-hsing, the incumbent Minister of Overseas Community Affairs Council.

Political Party:   Kuomintang   Democratic Progressive Party   Non-partisan/ unknown

  • Chen Shuren (陳樹人; 27 April 1932 – 1 May 1947)
  • Liu Weichi (劉維熾; 1 May 1947 – 28 December 1948)
  • Dai Kuisheng (戴愧生; 28 December 1948 – 18 May 1950)
  • George Yeh (葉公超; 19 May 1950 – 16 April 1952)
  • Zheng Yanfen (鄭彥棻; 16 April 1952 – 16 July 1958)
  • Chen Qingwen (陳清文; 16 July 1958 – 24 June 1960)
  • Chou Shu-kai (周書楷; 24 June 1960 – 3 December 1962)
  • Kao Hsin (高信; 3 December 1962 – 1 June 1972)
  • Mao Sung-nian (毛松年; 1 June 1972 – 1 June 1984)
  • Tseng Kuang-hsun (曾廣順; 1 June 1984 – 27 February 1993)
  • John Chiang (蔣孝嚴; 27 February 1993 – 10 June 1996)
  • Chu Chi-ying (祝基瀅; 10 June 1996 – 5 February 1998)
  • Chiao Jen-ho (焦仁和; 5 February 1998 – 20 May 2000)
№ Name Term of Office Days Political Party Premier
14 Chang Fu-mei (張富美) 20 May 200019 May 20082921[3] Democratic Progressive Party Tang Fei
Chang Chun-hsiung I
Yu Shyi-kun
Frank Hsieh
Su Tseng-chang
Chang Chun-hsiung II
15 Wu Ying-yih (吳英毅) 20 May 20081 August 20131899 Kuomintang Liu Chao-shiuan
Wu Den-yih
Chen Chun
Jiang Yi-huah
16 Chen Shyh-kwei (陳士魁) 1 August 201319 May 20161022 Kuomintang Jiang Yi-huah
Mao Chi-kuo
Chang San-cheng
17 Wu Hsin-hsing (吳新興) 20 May 2016Incumbent884 Lin Chuan
William Lai

Access

The council is accessible within walking distance North East from NTU Hospital Station of the Taipei Metro.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Shih Hsiu-chuan (2012-11-13). "DPP slams OCAC's use of simplified characters". Taipei Times. Retrieved 2012-11-13.
  2. ↑ "News Ticker". Taiwan Today. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan). 13 November 2012.
  3. ↑ Longest serving female cabinet member.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.