New directors of Taiwan Affairs Office bring experience in cross-strait ties and knowledge of Fujian
Veteran of Taiwan relations and experienced administrator from Fujian named in reshuffle
The mainland has named a cross-strait affairs veteran and a senior official from Fujian province as deputy directors of the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), in the latest round of personnel changes to deal with the island.
Li Yafei , 58, assistant director of the Taiwan Affairs Office, and Gong Qinggai , 55, director of the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone, officially appeared on the office's website yesterday as deputy directors.
They replace Zheng Lizhong and Sun Yafu , the two outgoing deputy directors who have reached retirement age.
After the latest reshuffle, the office will have four deputy directors, including the two incumbents, Ye Kedong and Chen Yuanfeng . It is unclear if Ye, who has just turned 60, is also slated for retirement soon.
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, the island's top mainland policy planning body, yesterday declined to comment on the changes, saying it was an internal matter for the TAO.
The new changes, announced by the TAO on its website yesterday, indicated that Beijing had planned to focus more on promoting the Pingtan project aimed at increasing interchanges between Taiwan and Fujian, on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, analysts said.
While Li is an old hand in cross-strait affairs, having served with both the TAO and its front body, the Association of Relations Across the Taiwan Strait in Beijing, the appointment of Gong was worth noting, said Chang Wu-ueh, director of the Graduate Institute of China Studies at Tamkang University in Taipei.
"Gong not only has local government experience, but is also well-versed in the administration of the Pingtan Special Zone," Chang said.
Gong has headed the Pingtan zone since 2010 after serving as mayor and Communist Party secretary in the Fujian cities of Jinjiang , Quanzhou and Nanping .
His appointment is expected to consolidate the policy of mainland leaders, including President Xi Jinping to develop Pingtan zone as a government experimental zone for the economic integration of Taiwan and Fujian, local analysts said.
The mainland has poured billions of dollars into developing the zone since 2010 to attract Taiwanese talent to work in Pingtan and offers handsome packages of benefits, including housing and children's education.
Taiwanese authorities, however, have warned its people against accepting government jobs at Pingtan, saying they violate the island's policy of taking up official posts in the mainland.
