January 1, 2015
Concerning the New Year's Eve stampede incident in the Bund area of Shanghai, the SEF telephoned the ARATS to express concern and to further understand the Taiwanese people's situation. It also asked the Shanghai Taiwan Affairs Office and Taiwanese Businessmen's Association to assist family members with follow up affairs.
January 29, 2015
The SEF and ARATS held the seventh regular meeting of the ECFA Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Committee (CSECC) in Taipei. The meeting was convened by SEF Vice Chairman Shih Hui-fen and ARATS Executive Vice Chairman Zheng Lizhong. The chief negotiators for the two sides were Taiwan Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Committee Chief Representative Cho Shih-chao and Mainland Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Committee Chief Representative Gao Yan. The two sides reviewed economic cooperation affairs such as the ECFA implementation status, current situation of Cross-Strait ECFA execution and progress of promotional issues, and the mutual establishment of economic and trade group offices by the two sides. The two sides also exchanged views on plans for the next stage of work.
February 4, 2015
The ARATS sent a letter to the SEF expressing concern over the TransAsia Airways plane crash and requesting the SEF's prompt assistance in grasping the status of Mainland passengers on the plane, the search and rescue for missing persons, and due treatment provided to the injured.
March 9, 2015
The ARATS sent a letter to the SEF expressing concern over the lost contact with Taiwanese fishing boat Hsiang Fu Chun in waters 1,300 NM east of Argentina. It expressed hopes for Taiwan to conduct a full search to determine the whereabouts of the lost fishing boat and its fishermen, among which includes 11 mainland Chinese fishermen.
March 11, 2015
ARATS Deputy Secretary-General Wang Xiaobing visited Taiwan to learn more about the incident involving lost contact with the Taiwanese fishing boat Hsiang Fu Chun. The SEF stated that it would maintain close contact with the ARATS and provide necessary assistance.
April 7-10, 2015
SEF Chairman Lin Join-sane led a delegation of SEF directors and supervisors to visit the Mainland and met with ARATS Chairman Chen Deming in Xi'an. During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on measures to protect Taiwanese businesses' rights and interests and also discussed SEF-ARATS affairs.
May 24, 2015
ARATS Vice Chairman Sun Yafu made a nine-day visit to Taiwan. During the stay, he met with SEF Chairman Lin Join-sane to exchange views on issues related to cross-strait relations.
June 23, 2015
The SEF and the ARATS completed the mutual notification procedures to bring the Cross-Strait Seismic Monitoring Cooperation Agreement and Cross-Strait Meteorological Cooperation Agreement into effect.
June 28, 2015
The SEF activated the emergency liaison channel with the ARATS after a dust explosion at Formosa Fun Coast in New Taipei City to request the latter's assistance in coordinating relevant departments to help the Mainland relatives of injured students to promptly come to Taiwan. It also prepared related assistance in handling this matter. The ARATS also expressed condolences and said it understood the situation with the injured persons and would provide full assistance.
July 12-17, 2015
According to the convention of exchange visits under the institutionalized exchange arrangement and Agreement on Joint Cross-Strait Crime-Fighting and Mutual Judicial Assistance between the SEF and the ARATS, ARATS director and chief of the Department of Law and Regulation, Taiwan Affairs Office Zhang Wanming led an ARATS judicial exchange mission to Taiwan on July 12 to 17 to exchange views on matters related to the agreement and deepen the effective implementation of the pact.
August 14, 2015
The SEF sent a letter and phoned the ARATS to express concern and condolences over the explosion at the hazardous goods warehouse of Ruihai Company in the Tianjin Binhai New Area. The SEF also asked about the casualty situation among local Taiwanese businesspeople. The ARATS thanked the SEF in a reply letter and informed that there were no major casualties among Taiwanese travelers, businesspeople, or family members.
August 25, 2015
The eleventh round of high-level talks between the SEF and the ARATS was held in Fuzhou, Fujian, mainland China. SEF Chairman Lin Join-sane and ARATS Chairman Chen Deming signed the Cross-Strait Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Enhancement of Tax Cooperation and Cross-Strait Collaboration Agreement on Flight Safety and Airworthiness. They also confirmed the inclusion of the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement, Dispute Settlement Agreement, SEF-ARATS reciprocal establishment of institutions, and cooperation on environmental protection as the four negotiation issues for the twelfth round of talks, and that agreement for these issues may be signed upon a reached consensus.
August 27, 2015
The SEF notified the ARATS about a bus rollover accident in Hengchun Township, Pingtung County that left one dead and 15 injured among a group of Mainland tourists. The ARATS asked the SEF to coordinate relevant units and follow-up affairs.
September 6, 2015
The ARATS sent a letter to the SEF expressing grief and sincere condolences over the victims in a Sichuan accident involving Taiwanese tourists. It also stated that it would coordinate the involved parties and help families to properly handle follow-up affairs. The SEF informed the ARATS that it would maintain close contact and jointly coordinate with the Tourism Bureau and Taipei office of the Cross-Strait Tourism Exchange Association.
November 30, 2015
ARATS Chairman Chen Deming led an ARATS visiting delegation to Taiwan for a seven-day visit. During the visit, he met with SEF Chairman Lin Join-sane to exchange views on issues related to cross-strait relations.
November 30, 2015
The SEF and ARATS held the Third Cross-Strait Agreement Results and Promotion Meeting in Taipei. SEF Vice Chairman Shih Hui-fen led the Taiwan negotiation team, while ARATS Executive Vice Chairman Zheng Lizhong led the ARATS negotiation team at the talks. During the meeting the two sides discussed the specific results of the 20 agreements signed and brought into effect and raised proposals for focal promotion. They also agreed to work together on follow-up implementation of the agreements.
December 30, 2015
The SEF and ARATS completed the notification process for the Cross-Strait Collaboration Agreement on Flight Safety and Airworthiness on December 30, 2015, paving the way for the agreement to officially come into effect on December 31, 2015. After the agreement comes into force, the airlines of both sides may delegate airplane maintenance release tasks to the repair stations of the other side so as to reduce operation cost and increase competitiveness, promote development of the cross-strait civil aviation industry, and, on the existing basis of flight safety, further enhance the people's safety and convenience of the environment for plane travel.