Straits Exchange Foundation


The Straits Exchange Foundation is a semiofficial organization set up by the Government of the Republic of China in Taiwan to handle technical and or business matters with the People's Republic of China. Though technically a private organization, it is funded by the government and controlled by the Mainland Affairs Council of the Executive Yuan. Its role is effectively to function as the de facto embassy to the PRC, as a means of avoiding acknowledgement of the PRC's statehood status.
Its counterpart in the PRC is the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits.

History

Due to the complexity of the 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, the SEF was formally established with the help of the 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 they had been virtually non-existent for almost 50 years after the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.

Organization structure

SEF branch office in Mainland China

On 11 April 2013, the Executive Yuan approved a bill to open SEF branch offices in Mainland China. That month, ROC President Ma Ying-jeou said the SEF offices in Mainland China will not fly ROC flags, either inside or outside the office buildings, because Taiwan and Mainland China are not officially foreign nations in relation to each other. In the initial announcement, three offices were planned.

SEF building

The current SEF building in Beian Road originated since its groundbreaking construction on 25 September 2010 when its ceremony was presided over by then SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung. On 31 March 2012, the finished constructed building was refurbished and SEF started to move there on 4 April 2012 from their old rented office building on Minsheng East Road. The new building was opened for service on 9 April 2012. On 18 May 2012, President Ma Ying-jeou presided over the building's official opening ceremony.

Transportation

The SEF building is adjacent to Dazhi Station of the Taipei Metro on the Brown Line.