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. 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 ...

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

Early life

Chen was born in 1941 in Heishan,

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

. He joined 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 ...

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

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

, 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

Chinese Communist Party Deputy Committee Secretary In modern politics of China, Chinese politics, a Deputy Party Committee Secretary (; also translated as Deputy Party Secretary, deputy party chief, vice party chief) serves as the lieutenant to the Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary, ...

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 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 Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, t=馬英九; pinyin: ''Mǎ Yīngjiǔ''; ; born 13 July 1950) is a Taiwanese politician, lawyer, and legal scholar who served as the sixth president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. A member of the Kuomintang (KMT ...

, 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 The Executive Yuan () is the executive (government), executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Under the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China, amended constitution, the head of the Execut ...

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 , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

.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 CCP 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