Tien Hung-mao will be the new chairman of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation(SEF), a spokesperson of the island's leader's office said Wednesday.
The SEF's top position had been left vacant after Lin Join-sane resigned as chairman in May. Tian is currently chairman of the board of the institute for the island's policy research.
Founded in 1991 and 1990, respectively, the Chinese mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and SEF are authorized by the Chinese mainland and Taiwan to handle cross-Strait affairs.
