Chen Yunlin (; born December 1941) was the chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), the body responsible for negotiations with

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

in the People's Republic of China in 2008–2013.

Early life

Chen was born in 1941 in Heishan, Liaoning. He joined the

Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

(CPC) in 1966. In 1967, he graduated from Beijing Agricultural University and started to work as technician in a chemical factory in Qiqihar,

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () Postal romanization, formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a Provinces of China, province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is th ...

, and later on promoted to be factory director.

Political life

In 1981, Chen started to work for the government as the Director of Qiqihar City Economic Planning Committee. In 1983, he became the mayor of Qiqihar and in 1984 he was appointed deputy secretary of the CPC provincial committee and Director of Commission for Restructuring the Economy of Heilongjiang Province. In 1987, he became the vice governor of Heilongjiang Province. In 1994, he was appointed to the

Taiwan Affairs Office The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council is an administrative agency under the State Council of Mainland China. It is responsible for setting and implementing guidelines and policies related to the Republic of China (Taiwan), as stipul ...

of the State Council as vice director, becoming its director in 1997. In 2008, due to the resumption of talks with

following the election of Ma Ying-jeou, Chen Yun-lin became the second head of ARATS. Though nominally a private body, ARATS is directly led by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. Chen's new office at ARATS is in the same building complex as his old office at the Taiwan Affairs Office. The ARATS is the body directly responsible for negotiating with the Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF), its counterpart in Taiwan, which is correspondingly directly led by the

Mainland Affairs Council The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is a cabinet-level administrative agency under the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China in Taiwan. The MAC is responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of the cross-strait relations ...

of the

Executive Yuan The Executive Yuan () is the executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Its leader is the Premier, who is appointed by the President of the Republic of China, and requires confirmation by the Legislative Yuan. ...

Visit to Taiwan

On November 4, 2008, Chen met with his Taiwanese counterpart at the Second Chen-Chiang summit. Chiang Pin-kung, head of Taiwan's SEF. It was the first ever meeting between ARATS and SEF leaders in Taiwan.Sin
"Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou meets ARATS chief"
Retrieved on November 9, 2008. The meeting lasted from November 3 to 7 in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

.China Daily
"SEF releases schedule of mainland delegation's trip to Taiwan"
(November 2, 2008) Retrieved on November 9, 2008. The 5-day visit was the highest level meeting between the KMT and the CPC in six decades.Etaiwannews.com
"China envoy arrives amid civilized Taiwanese protests."
Retrieved on November 9, 2008. Another visit to Taiwan was followed on December 21, 2009. This controversial visit triggered an important social movement called the Wild Strawberry student movement.

References

External links

Free searchable biography of Chen Yun-lin at China Vitae
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Yunlin 1941 births Living people Chinese Communist Party politicians from Liaoning Politicians from Jinzhou People's Republic of China politicians from Liaoning