The Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission (MTAC) was a ministry-level commission of the Executive Yuan in the Republic of China. It was disbanded on 15 September 2017.
History
The first model was created during the Qing dynasty in 1636 as the Mongolian Bureau (; ), later reformed into the Lifan Yuan (理藩院) in 1639, and oversaw the relationship of the Qing court to its "Feudatory Regions" (Mongolian and Tibetan territories). In 1906, during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor, it was renamed to Ministry of Minority Affairs (理藩部).
Following the Xinhai Revolution and the collapse of the Qing dynasty, the section was replaced by Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Agency under the Ministry of the Interior in April 1912. In July 1912, the agency was again renamed as Bureau of Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs (蒙藏院) and placed under the State Affairs Yuan. In 1914, it was reorganized and being placed directly under the supervision of President. On 1 February 1929, it was finally changed to Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission (MTAC) in accordance with the Nationalist Government Organizational Law. After the Communist revolution in 1949, and the central government of China's relocation to Taiwan, formerly a Qing province turned colony that was acquired from Japan in 1945 after the end of World War II, the MTAC ceased its activities in Tibet and Mongolia, although it served as a governmental body which assisted in the relationship between ethnic Mongols and Tibetans in Taiwan and increasing the communication between the Taiwanese and the Mongols as well as the Tibetans.
After the 1959 Tibetan uprising, Chiang Kai-shek announced in his Letter to Tibetan Compatriots () that the ROC's policy would be to help the Tibetan people overthrow the People's Republic of China's rule in Tibet. The MTAC sent secret agents to India to disseminate pro-Kuomintang (KMT) and anti-Communist propaganda among Tibetan exiles. From 1971 to 1978, the MTAC also recruited ethnic Tibetan children from India and Nepal to study in Taiwan, with the expectation that they would work for a ROC government that returned to the mainland.
On 14 August 2017, the Executive Yuan, now led by the independence minded Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration, announced that the MTAC would be dissolved by the end of the year. No budget was allocated to the MTAC for 2018. Employees and responsibilities of the commission were reassigned to two places: the Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Center under the Ministry of Culture, and the expanded Department of Hong Kong, Macao, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet Affairs under the Mainland Affairs Council.
Organizational structure Commissioners Secretary's Office Counselor's Office Department of Mongolian Affairs Department of Tibetan Affairs Department of General Affairs Compilation and Translation Accounting Office Personnel Office Civil Service Ethics Office
Ministers
Political Party:
No.NameTerm of office DaysPolitical partyAncestry (ethnicity)Premier 1 Yan Xishan (閻錫山) Kuomintang Wutai, Shanxi Tan Yankai 2 Ma Fuxiang (馬福祥) Kuomintang Linxia, Gansu (Hui) Tan YankaiChiang Kai-shek I 3 Shi Qingyang (石青陽) Kuomintang Ba County, Sichuan Sun Fo IWang Jingwei 4 Huang Mu-sung (黃慕松) Kuomintang Meichuan, Guangdong Wang JingweiChiang Kai-shek II 5 Lin Yungai (林雲陔) Kuomintang Xinyi, Guangdong Chiang Kai-shek II 6 Wu Zhongxin (吳忠信) Kuomintang Hefei, Anhui Chiang Kai-shek IIH. H. KungChiang Kai-shek III 7 Leung Kam Lo (羅良鑒) Kuomintang Shanhua, Hunan Chiang Kai-shek IIIT. V. Soong 8 Xu Shiying (許世英) Kuomintang Qiupu, Anhui Zhang QunWeng Wenhao 9 Serengdongrub (白雲梯) Kuomintang Harqin Middle Banner, Rehe (Mongol) Sun Fo IIHe Yingqin 10 Guan Jiyu (關吉玉) Kuomintang Liaoyang, Liaoning (Manchu) He YingqinYan Xishan 11 Zhou Kuntian (周昆田) Kuomintang Hefei, Anhui Yan Xishan 12 Yu Ching-tang (余井塘) Kuomintang Dongtai, Jiangsu Chen Cheng I 13 Tien Chung-chin (田炯錦) Kuomintang Qingyang, Gansu Chen Cheng I 14 Liu Lianke (劉廉克) Kuomintang Harqin Left Banner, Rehe (Mongol) Chen Cheng IYu Hung-Chun 15 Lee Yong-xin (李永新) Kuomintang Harqin Left Banner, Rehe (Mongol) Chen Cheng II 16 Tien Chung-chin (田炯錦) Kuomintang Qingyang, Gansu Chen Cheng II 17 (郭寄嶠) Kuomintang Hefei, Anhui Chen Cheng IIYen Chia-kan 18 Chui Yan Cui (崔垂言) Kuomintang Changchun, Jilin Yen Chia-kanChiang Ching-kuo Sun Yun-suan 19 Xie Renyang (薛人仰) Kuomintang Fuzhou, Fujian Sun Yun-suan 20 Dong Shufan (董樹藩) Kuomintang Sa County, Suiyuan Sun Yun-suanYu Kuo-hua 21 Wu Hua-peng (吳化鵬) Kuomintang Aohan Right Banner, Rehe (Mongol) Yu Kuo-huaLee HuanHau Pei-tsun 22 Zhang Junyi (張駿逸) Kuomintang Changsha, Hunan Lien Chan 23 Lee Hou-kao (李厚高) Kuomintang Songzi, Hubei Lien Chan 24 Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉) Kuomintang Minhou, Fujian Vincent Siew 25 Hsu Cheng-kuang (徐正光) Pingtung, Taiwan Tang FeiChang Chun-hsiung I 26 Hsu Chih-hsiung (許志雄) Democratic Progressive Party Keelung, Taiwan Yu Shyi-kunFrank HsiehSu Tseng-changChang Chun-hsiung II 27 Kao Su-po (高思博) Kuomintang Tainan City Liu Chao-shiuanWu Den-yih 28 Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪) Kuomintang Shuangfeng, Hunan Wu Den-yihChen ChunJiang Yi-huah — Chen Ming-jen (陳明仁) Chiayi County, Taiwan Jiang Yi-huah 29 Jaclyn Tsai (蔡玉玲) Independent Taiwan Jiang Yi-huahMao Chi-kuoChang San-cheng 30 Lin Mei-chu (林美珠) Independent Taipei City Lin Chuan 31 Hsu Jan-yau (許璋瑤) Independent Kaohsiung City Lin ChuanWilliam Lai
Other notable members Thubten Choekyi Nyima, 9th Panchen Lama Wu Heling Pandatsang Rapga
Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Center
The Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Center () was originally managed by the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission. It is located in the Daan District of Taipei on Qingtian Street near the Taipei Grand Mosque and Mandarin Training Center. The center was established in 1993 in the former residence of the Changkya Khutukhtu, Lobsang Pelden Tenpe Dronme, who fled to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War in 1949. The building incorporates traditional Tibetan architectural features. It also includes an exhibition area for cultural artifacts, a reading room, lecture hall and prayer hall for the Changkya Khutukhtu. After the commission was disbanded, the center's management was turned over to the Ministry of Culture.
See also
Executive Yuan Republic of China (1912–49) Tibet (1912–51) Mongolia (1911–24) Mongolia–Taiwan relations Mongolians in Taiwan
Similar government agencies Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs (Yuan dynasty) Lifan Yuan (Qing dynasty) State Ethnic Affairs Commission (People's Republic of China)
References
External links
Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Center