Cross-Strait Act
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The Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (), also called Cross-Strait Act (), is the law of the Republic of China (
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
or ROC) governing cross-strait relations. In article 1, the act mentions its applicability in the period before national unification. The main purpose of the act is to protect the security and welfare of the people of Taiwan. The act defines its ''de facto'' controlled territory as the
Taiwan area The Taiwan Area, also called the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China, the free area of the Republic of China, and the "Tai-Min Area (Taiwan and Fuchien)" , is a term used to refer to the territories under the effective control of the Rep ...
, while at the same time affirming sovereignty over the Mainland area in article 2. It also provides a legal framework on the relations between
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
and
mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
without recognising the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
(PRC) and its governmental organisations. It is enacted in accordance with Article 11 of the
Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China The Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China are the revisions and amendments to the original constitution of the Republic of China to "meet the requisites of the nation prior to national unification", taking into acco ...
promulgated on 1 May 1991.


History

The act was drafted in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Early on 10 May 1948, the National Assembly of the Republic of China adopted the
Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion The Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of National Mobilization for Suppression of the Communist Rebellion provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of China were effective from 1948 to 1991 and amended four times by the Centr ...
in the midst of the
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
between the
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
and the
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
. In 1949, the Communists overthrew the Nationalist Government from mainland China, and proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China while the government retreated to Taiwan, formerly a Qing province ceded to the
Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...
from
1895 Events January * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island (off French Guiana) on what is much later admitted to be a false charge of tr ...
to 1945. During the "Communist Rebellion" period, the ROC regarded cross-Strait relation as at war. However, after the PRC implemented economic reform and altered the approach to Taiwan starting from 1980s, the ROC Government allowed nationals to visit their mainland relatives in 1987, and the necessity of regulating the cross-strait relationship arose thereafter. In 1989, the
Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
unveiled the Provisional Bill Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and Mainland Area (). In 1991, the Temporary Provisions were repealed by President
Lee Teng-hui Lee Teng-hui (; pinyin: ''Lǐ Dēnghuī''; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese politician and agricultural scientist who served as the fourth president of the Republic of China, president of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan) unde ...
, which allowed the act to be passed by the Legislative Yuan on 16 July 1992 and commenced at the end of the month.


Imposition


Amendments and constitutional validity

The act is prominent in governing the relationship between Taiwan and mainland China, which various subsidiary legislations were made under this law, and was amended during the ruling of both
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
and
Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...
(DPP). Article 18 of the act, regarding the deportation of mainlanders that legally entered Taiwan, was ruled unconstitutional in 2013. An amendment was passed in 2019 which any cross-Strait political settlement must be considered by the parliament twice and approved in referendum before being signed by the president. A year later, parliamentarians from DPP tabled amendments to repeal wordings of "before national unification" and substitute with "accordingly to national development" or "during which the governance is limited to Tai-Peng-Kin-Ma and affiliated islands", but was withdrawn days later after first reading.


Applicability on Hong Kong and Macau

According to the act, "people of the Taiwan area" refers to those under the jurisdiction of the
government of the Republic of China The Government of the Republic of China is the central government, national authority whose actual-controlled territory consists of Taiwan (island), main island of Taiwan (Formosa), Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu Islands, Matsu, and list of islands of ...
on
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
and its associated islands; "people of the Mainland area" refers to those under the jurisdiction of the
government of the People's Republic of China The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a Unitary state, unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's ...
, with the exception of
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
(a former British colony that was ceded by the Qing in 1842) and
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
(formerly a Portuguese colony ceded by the Qing in 1887) which are governed by the separate Laws and Regulations Regarding Hong Kong & Macao Affairs, unless changes in Hong Kong and Macau endanger Taiwan's security as stipulated by Article 60 of the Laws and Regulations:
..should any change occur in the situation of Hong Kong or Macau such that the implementation of this Act endangers the security of the Taiwan Area, the Executive Yuan may request the President to order suspension of the application of all or part of the provisions of this Act .. Should the application of any part of this Act be suspended and no other laws or regulations be formulated to govern relations between the Taiwan Area and Hong Kong or Macau, the relevant provisions of the Act Governing the Relations Between People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area shall apply.


Ban on Mainland Chinese online platforms

Chiu Chui-cheng, spokesman of the
Mainland Affairs Council The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is a cabinet-level administrative agency under the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The MAC is responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of the cross-strait relations p ...
, revealed to Nikkei Asia in 2019 that the ROC government planned to block
iQIYI iQIYI (, pronounced in English as ), formerly Qiyi (), is a Chinese subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Baidu. Headquartered in Beijing, iQIYI primarily produces and distributes films and television series. i ...
and Tencent Video (or WeTV) in Taiwan to curb false information against Taiwan made by the PRC government. Chiu added that OTT, a Taiwanese subsidiary of iQIYI, was placed under investigation by the ROC's Ministry of Economic Affairs, and could be asked to close its "iQIYI Taiwan Station" if found in violation of the Act. On 19 August 2020, the Department of Commerce of the Economic Affairs Ministry, citing relevant regulations of the Act, banned OTT (and by extension iQIYI and Tencent Video) from further operating in Taiwan, or risk a continuous fine ranging from NT$50,000 to NT$5 million.


Reintepretation on household registration of Mainland China

According to Article 9-1, it forbids Taiwan residents to held household registration or passport issued by Mainland China authorities, or else facing risk of losing rights as Taiwan residents. In April 2025, the Mainland Affairs Council announced that the definition of household registration expand to permanent resident certificates, and in June 5 2025, Chang Li-chi, a professor at Huaqiao University lost his Taiwan resident status for holding permanent resident certificate.


See also

* Cross-strait relations *
Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China The Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China are the revisions and amendments to the original constitution of the Republic of China to "meet the requisites of the nation prior to national unification", taking into acco ...
*
1992 Consensus The 1992 Consensus is a political term referring to the alleged outcome of a meeting in 1992 between the semi-official representatives of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-led People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China and the Kuomintang ...
*
One-China policy ''One China'' is a phrase describing the relationship between the People's Republic of China (PRC) based on mainland China, and the Republic of China (ROC) based on the Taiwan Area. "One China" asserts that there is only one ''de jure'' C ...
*
Political status of Taiwan The island of Taiwan is the subject of a geopolitical dispute between the Republic of China (ROC), which controls it, and the People's Republic of China (PRC), which claims it as part of its territory. The Republic of China (ROC) was establ ...
*
Republic of China retreat to Taiwan Following their defeat in the Chinese Civil War, the remnants of the Nationalist government of the Republic of China (ROC), alongside many refugees, retreated to the island of Taiwan (Formosa) beginning on December 7, 1949. The exodus is so ...


References


External links

* Act Governing Relations between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area {{authority control Cross-strait relations Law of Taiwan 1992 establishments in Taiwan