Biography
Chen was born in 1941 in Heishan, Liaoning. He joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 1966. A chemist by training, Chen served in various roles in the government of Heilongjiang, becoming deputy governor in 1987. In 1994, he was appointed to the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, becoming its head in 1997. In 2008, due to the resumption of talks with Taiwan 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 of the Executive Yuan.
Read more about this topic: Chen Yunlin
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“Just how difficult it is to write biography can be reckoned by anybody who sits down and considers just how many people know the real truth about his or her love affairs.”
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