Straits Exchange Foundation
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| Formation | 21 November 1990 (first meeting) 9 March 1991 (start operation) |
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| Headquarters | Zhongshan, Taipei |
| Location | |
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Chairman
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Tien Hung-mao |
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Vice Chairman and Secretary-General
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Vacant |
| Website | www.sef.org.tw |
The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF; Chinese: 海峽交流基金會; pinyin: Hǎixiá Jiāoliú Jījīnhuì; often abbreviated as 海基會) is a semi-official organization set up by the Government of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan to handle technical or business matters with the People's Republic of China (PRC). Though technically a private organization, it is funded by the government and controlled by the Mainland Affairs Council of the Executive Yuan. Its roles are in effect, the de facto embassy to PR China, to not officially acknowledge PRC's statehood status.
Its counterpart in the PRC is the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS).
Due to the complexity of political and legal status of cross-strait relations and lack of contact between the two sides, the ROC government had to create an intermediary body from the private sector to deal with all cross-strait matters. Thus on 9 March 1991, SEF was formally established with the help of government and private sector funds.
At the same time, the PRC government established ARATS. The creation of these two offices facilitate a new stage in cross-strait relations after it had been idle for almost 50 years after the end of Chinese civil war in 1949.
After ROC cabinet Executive Yuan approved the bill on 11 April 2013, SEF will start to have a branch office in Mainland China by the end of 2014. In April 2013, ROC President Ma Ying-jeou said that SEF offices in Mainland China will not wave ROC flags, either inside or outside the office buildings, because Taiwan and Mainland China are not foreign nations to each other. Up to date, SEF plans to have three offices in Mainland China.
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Wikipedia