Echopedia

Overseas Community Affairs Council (僑務委員會)

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Overseas Community Affairs Council (僑務委員會)

The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC; Chinese: 僑務委員會; pinyin: Qiáo Wù Wěiyuánhuì) is a cabinet-level council of the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Founded in 1926 in Guangzhou, its primary mission is to manage cultural, educational, economic, and informational exchanges between Taiwan and overseas Taiwanese and Chinese-descended communities worldwide.

Official site: www.ocac.gov.tw · English site: OCAC Eng · Source hub: |ocac.gov.tw

Identity Snapshot

FieldDetail
EnglishOverseas Community Affairs Council
Chinese僑務委員會 (traditional) / 侨务委员会 (simplified)
PinyinQiáo Wù Wěiyuánhuì
Hokkien POJKiâu-bū Úi-oân-hōe
FoundedOctober 1926 (Guangzhou, China)
HeadquartersZhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan
JurisdictionRepublic of China (Taiwan) — Executive Yuan
Current MinisterHsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) — since 31 January 2023
DeputyRoy Leu (呂欣彥) — Vice Minister

History and Name Changes

OCAC has undergone several name changes reflecting Taiwan’s evolving political landscape:

NamePeriodNotes
Overseas Chinese Affairs CommissionOctober 1926 – April 2006Original name
Overseas Compatriot Affairs CommissionApril 2006 – 1 September 2012Renamed under [[people/chen-shuibian|
Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission1 September 2012 – 12 November 2012Brief interim
Overseas Community Affairs CouncilSince 12 November 2012Current name; reverted under KMT after 2012 election

In November 2012, a controversy arose when OCAC was found using simplified Chinese characters in some teaching materials. Facing budget-freezing threats from DPP legislators, the director relented and the agency was renamed “ROC (Taiwan) Overseas Community Affairs Council” to emphasize its Taiwan identity.

Mission and Scope

OCAC’s remit extends beyond Taiwanese expatriates to include all ethnic Taiwanese and Chinese living abroad who identify with the Republic of China (ROC). The council serves as the primary liaison between the Taiwan government and overseas communities across:

  • Cultural exchange — cultural delegations, heritage festivals, traditional arts
  • Education — Mandarin/Taiwanese/Hakka language programs, overseas Chinese schools, youth study tours
  • Economic and trade — business chambers, investment promotion, credit guarantee funds
  • Information services — certification, documentation, digital platforms
  • Community support — emergency assistance, annual conferences, youth ambassador programs

Organizational Structure

OCAC is organized into the following departments and offices:

Department / OfficeFunction
Department of Policy Research and DevelopmentPolicy formulation and research
Department of Overseas Chinese Network ServicesOverseas community network management
Department of Overseas Chinese EducationOverseas Chinese education programs
Department of Overseas Chinese BusinessBusiness and trade services
Department of Overseas Chinese Student CounselingStudent services and counseling
Overseas Chinese News AgencyNews and media services
Secretariat OfficeAdministrative support
Personnel OfficeHR and staffing
Civil Service Ethics OfficeEthics and compliance
Accounting and Statistics OfficeFinance and statistics
Information Management OfficeIT and digital services
Legal Affairs CommitteeLegal counsel

Overseas Presence

OCAC maintains overseas service points across six regions:

  • Asia — including Southeast Asia, South Asia, Middle East
  • Oceania — Australia, New Zealand, Pacific islands
  • Europe — EU countries, UK, Eastern Europe
  • North America — United States, Canada, Mexico
  • Central & South America — Latin American countries
  • Africa — Sub-Saharan African nations

OCAC offices may serve in addition to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Offices (TECRO), providing complementary community-level services.

Services for Overseas Communities

Certification Services

  • Overseas Compatriot Identity Certificate (with nationality or ethnic Chinese proof)
  • Passport endorsements for overseas status
  • Military service exemption certifications

Education and Youth Programs

  • Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning — language promotion
  • Formosa Association of Student Cultural Ambassadors (FASCA) — overseas youth cultural exchange
  • Overseas youth study tours and language programs
  • Subsidies for overseas Chinese schools to visit Taiwan
  • Digital online teaching resources

Business and Trade

  • Overseas Chinese chambers of commerce support
  • Investment in Taiwan facilitation
  • Overseas Credit Guarantee Fund

Community Support

  • Emergency Assistance Associations — crisis support for overseas compatriots
  • Continental Annual Conferences — regional community gatherings
  • Seminars of Overseas Community — visiting delegation programs
  • i-Taiwan Window — digital platform for overseas engagement

Relationship to Taiwanese-American Communities

OCAC plays a significant role in the Taiwanese-American experience in Southern California and beyond:

  • Funding and support for Taiwanese-American cultural organizations such as |Taiwan Center Foundation of the Greater Los Angeles
  • Cultural delegation sponsorship — e.g., the Heritage Week Cultural Delegation hosted by Taiwan Center (2024, 2025)
  • Education program coordination — Taiwan School courses, teacher training, textbook distribution
  • Certification services — identity certificates, document authentication for Taiwanese-Americans
  • Community event facilitation — annual conferences, cultural festivals, youth programs

Notable Interactions

Current Leadership

PositionNamePartyTerm
MinisterHsu Chia-ching (徐佳青)[[organizations/democratic-progressive-party|DPP]]
Vice MinisterRoy Leu (呂欣彥)——

Historical Ministers (selected)

#NameTermParty
1Chen Shuren (陳樹人)1932–1947KMT
14Chang Fu-mei (張富美)2000–2008DPP
15Wu Ying-yih (吳英毅)2008–2013KMT
18Tung Chen-yuan (童振源)2020–2023DPP
19Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青)2023–presentDPP

Digital Presence

Source Notes and Confidence

  • Primary source: ocac.gov.tw — scraped via r.jina.ai
  • Cross-reference: Wikipedia: Overseas Community Affairs Council
  • OCAC is a Taiwan government agency (ROC/Executive Yuan), not a Taiwanese-American organization. Its inclusion in Echopedia reflects its role as a governing body for overseas Taiwanese communities, including those in the United States.
  • verification_status: pending — page drafted from official website and Wikipedia; awaiting human review for completeness.

From the record

  • 複核（TJJ-A09250400-2, 2026-09-25）：本 slice 4 篇 TJJ 文章（2d725102 去殖民化（下）、039ccce4 Joyce Lin 墜機、162effa7 TASF 紓困獎學金、1d72b2ae 小英後援會造勢）subject link 再驗證：{NAME} 對應真實（記述確認見於正文），無錯鏈、無虛鏈；含該文 wikilink 的日期事實條目已在庫 — SKIP，無新材料。

  • 複核（TJJ-A09171100-4, 2026-09-24）：本 slice 文章 162effa713237818 正文再驗證——本頁 subject link 為真實對應（無錯鏈、無虛鏈），對應 From-the-record 條目已在庫 — SKIP，無新材料。

  • 複核（TJJ-A09231000-2, 2026-09-25）：本 slice 4 篇 TJJ 文章（2d725102 去殖民化（下）、039ccce4 Joyce Lin 墜機、162effa7 TASF 紓困獎學金、1d72b2ae 小英後援會造勢）subject link 再驗證：僑務委員會 OCAC（經故僑務委員王桂榮） 對應真實，無錯鏈、無虛鏈；對應 From-the-record 條目已在庫 — SKIP，無新材料。

  • 2020-06-16 — A TASF/TJJ press release for the Student Covid-19 Relief Scholarship Program records that the 大洛杉磯台灣會館基金會, the article’s Greater-LA award-issuing partner, was founded in 1998 when the late OCAC commissioner (故僑務委員) 王桂榮 (Ken John Wang) generously donated the property, with 萬通銀行總裁吳澧培 as fundraising chair (TJJ, 2020-06-16).

  • 1966 — OCAC’s best-known overseas-youth program, the Overseas Chinese Youth Language Training and Study Tour (“Love Boat”), was established to build ROC loyalty; the KMT presented itself to second-generation participants “as the true and real bastion of Chinese tradition and culture” (Joan S.H. Wang, quoted in 去殖民化論述). Until the early 2000s, Taiwanese emigrants who wished to identify as Taiwanese did so largely in opposition to this apparatus.

  • 1980s — A Houston sojourner recalled that OCAC-published textbooks contained no mention of “Taiwan” while Chinese history and feudal traditions filled their pages — everyday friction that pushed families toward Taiwanese-language community schools (休士頓台語學校記憶).

  • Kenjohn Wang 王桂榮 — OCAC Commissioner and community veteran: founded the Taiwan Hotel-Motel Association and the Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce, donated US$1M to establish the 台美基金會 (Taiwanese American Foundation), and donated the family’s 20,000+ sq-ft Rosemead estate to the Taiwan Center (Who’s Who 66, Our Journeys 29). His own 2016 biographical profile and the Foundation’s 2016 award-recipient list are in the corpus (追憶王桂榮, 台美文教基金會得獎名單); as 第二任會長 he “將公會會務發揚光大” in the hotel association he founded (公會會務記述). The Foundation’s charter explicitly barred OCAC commissioners and overseas-affairs advisers from serving on its board — a deliberate firewall against ROC oversight (台美基金會章程記憶).

  • 2000 party rotation — Fu-mei Chang 張富美, a founding-generation leader of the Formosan Association councils, returned to Taiwan and served as OCAC Minister 2000–2008; she is separately recorded in the corpus as DPP’s “Overseas Chinese Affairs Commissioner” (全美會早期歷史, TAI 北加州網絡).

  • 2008–2013 — Wu Ying-yih 吳英毅’s OCAC commissionership is recorded inside the community-organization story: he convened the 1981 Chicago formation of 全美台灣同鄉聯誼會, created by KMT directive as a counterweight to the 全美臺灣同鄉會 (芝加哥同鄉會抗爭記). OCAC personnel history is entangled with diaspora organizational politics.

  • 2022-10-26 — Commissioner Tung Chen-yuan 童振源 personally accompanied the 20-member 全美台灣同鄉會 visitation delegation into the 總統府 to meet President Tsai Ing-wen; the group photo (front row, fourth from right) was provided by the Presidential Office (全美會參訪團). This corroborates Tung’s ministership 2020–2023 from the community side; note 徐佳青 appears in the same account as 僑委會副委員長, consistent with her Jan-2023 succession — no dates merged.

  • 2015 — The Southern-region convention in Miami opened with 僑務委員 徐彩惠 as 總召集人 (general convener), alongside OCAC Vice Minister 楊黃美幸’s keynote — OCAC embeds named overseas community leaders as conveners of its regional assemblies, not just as ceremonial guests (佛州鄉親大會).

  • 1990s–2000s — OCAC began reaching out to Taiwanese associations from the 1990s; after the 2000 party rotation the DPP-led government expanded rather than abolished OCAC services, tightening links between overseas Taiwanese groups and Taiwan. OCAC statistics recorded ~1.779M “臺僑” worldwide at end-2007, ~858K in the US (《中華民國96年僑務統計年報》, cited in 「台美人」一詞的由來). HOLD: the OCAC’s “臺僑” framing is itself contested within the community — record it as an OCAC label, not as community identity.

  • OCAC arranges touring art groups each North American Taiwanese Heritage Week (May), with Minnesota often the first US stop (明尼蘇達文化巡演); OCAC/TECRO appear as behind-the-scenes supporters of the July-4 Taiwanese American Independence Day Parade in Philadelphia and similar Heritage-week parades (費城台美人遊行, 花車遊行外交記).

  • Financial backstop — when the Taiwan Center faced a funding crisis, the government agreed to make OCAC the guarantor bearing interest on a US$400,000 loan from ICBC (台灣會館財務史).

  • Personnel in the record: Commissioner Chiao Jen-ho 焦仁和 visited the Taiwan Center with a dozen-person entourage (台灣中心女性記憶); Vice Minister Yang Huang-mei-shing 楊黃美幸 addressed the Southern-region convention in Miami (佛州鄉親大會); OCAC Commissioner 蔡榮聰 hosted the 2014 New Jersey 台語 teacher seminar with 鄭安住 (紐澤西台語研習); James Chuang, OCAC adviser in New York, organized hospital-supply deliveries during the 2020 pandemic (紐約台美人防疫互助); former Commissioner 高資敏 was the plaintiff in the 1984 “四腳仔” defamation suit against 台灣公論報 (四腳仔官司); OCAC Commissioner 白越珠 received a White House lifetime-achievement award signed by President Biden (2022, 白越珠獲獎記).

  • 複核（DEEPEN-X10081000-1, 2026-10-09）：全庫 ZH+EN grep（僑務委員會／僑務委員／OCAC／王桂榮）於 works/articles/events/topics 再驗證——本頁既有 162effa7 條目為真實對應；另吸收 20 筆先前未鏈接的 corpus 記錄如上。HOLD: 徐佳青 appears in 全美會參訪團 as 僑委會副委員長 during an undated October-24 visit — consistent with her later Jan-2023 ministership; no dates merged.

  • 複核（DEEPEN-X10080958-31, 2026-10-09）：全庫 ZH+EN grep（僑務委員會／僑務委員／OCAC／王桂榮）於 works/articles/sources/events/topics 再驗證——本頁於前輪 10081000-1 已吸收 20 筆 corpus 記錄，本輪補鏈 3 筆先前未鏈接記錄：王桂榮 2016 傳記（mystories449）、台美文教基金會得獎名單（winners20）、公會會務記述（344）。其餘 hits 為重複記述或僅 subject-link。無日期衝突需 HOLD。

  • OCAC as arts sponsor — the New York Young Lions Youth Orchestra (founded 1996, Beacon Program 1998–2007) records 僑務委員會 among its New York sponsors alongside 紐約臺北經濟文化辦事處 and 紐約華僑文教服務中心, i.e. OCAC underwrites overseas youth arts programs at the city level, not only Taipei-run tours (紐約幼獅管弦樂團記)

  • 複核（DEEPEN-X10100500-7, 2026-10-11）：全庫 ZH+EN grep（僑務委員會／僑務委員／OCAC／王桂榮／Kenjohn Wang）再驗證——本輪補鏈 1 筆先前未鏈接記錄（ourjourneys306 紐約幼獅贊助記）。其餘 hits 屬王桂榮個人傳記／FAPA 創立記（ourjourneys65：王桂榮以台美商會會長任 FAPA 財務，非 OCAC 職務）、鶴園老人公寓與信用合作社記述（ourjourneys173/54/244）、甘迺迪募款餐會（ourjourneys59）等 community-organization 材料，主體非 OCAC，留於王桂榮相關頁面。無日期衝突需 HOLD。

  • 1990 — Blacklist-lifting negotiation: when the 北美州台灣人教授協會 (NPTAP) held its first Taipei annual conference, 18 of 84 applicants were flagged by the authorities as “簽證上有技術性問題”; after nearly six months of negotiation with the 海工會, OCAC (僑委會) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the blacklist shrank to three (吳明基、李應元、郭榮桔) — OCAC appears here as one of the government bodies the diaspora had to negotiate with simply to be allowed to visit home (教授協會回國交渉記).

  • 1982 — Fu-mei Chang 張富美, described in the corpus text as “現僑委會委員長”, raised funds for the Chen Wen-chen Memorial Foundation in 1982; the first 文成盃網球赛 followed on 1984-08-04 in Fremont, becoming a major Northern California Taiwanese summer event (北加州陳文成紀念記, English version). HOLD: the “currently the Minister” phrasing conflicts with her recorded 2000–2008 ministership (全美會早期歷史); no dates merged.

  • 2003 — Minnesota: OCAC Commissioner Fu-mei Chang and Chicago office director 陳俊賢 called on the Minnesota state government in April and held a compatriot forum; the OCAC Chicago 僑教中心 donated the initial book collection of the 台灣線上圖書館 launched by 蔡玉茂 in September (明州鄉親年誌).

  • Recreation support — the Toronto table-tennis championship revived “with OCAC venue sponsorship” (在僑委會的場地贊助下), showing OCAC underwrites community recreation at the city level, not only arts and culture (多倫多乒乓球記).

  • 複核（DEEPEN-X10120316-18, 2026-10-12）：全庫 ZH+EN grep（僑務委員會／僑務委員／僑委會／OCAC／王桂榮／Kenjohn Wang）再驗證——本輪補鏈 4 筆先前未鏈接記錄（ourjourneys259 黑名單交渉、ourjourneys38/38-eng 張富美募款記、ourjourneys123 明州參訪、ourjourneys185 多倫多乒乓球）。其餘 hits 為重複記述或王桂榮個人傳記材料，留於王桂榮相關頁面。1 筆日期衝突已 HOLD（張富美 1982 vs 2000–2008）。

  • 2021-04-01 — Anti-Asian hate-crime response: as attacks against Asian Americans spread across the US, OCAC Commissioner Tung Chen-yuan directed overseas community-affairs staff to monitor compatriot safety via LINE and Facebook, coordinate with local police through the Emergency Assistance Associations, and hold a video conference with the US-region diaspora on April 7; the council reported no cases of harmed US compatriots at that point (TJJ, 2021-04-01).

  • 2021-08-29 — An 海外台語文教師研習會 at the 大洛杉磯台灣會館, organized by the Taiwan School with the LA 華僑文教中心 co-organizing and the 中華民國僑務委員會 sponsoring, drew ~30 participants across three generations — OCAC’s sponsorship of Taiwanese-language teacher training, not only Mandarin, at community venues (TJJ, 2021-08-29).

  • 2022-02-26 — Heidelberg became Germany’s second Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning (after Hamburg, Sept 2021), founded by the 僑團「國際傑人會德國總會」with OCAC support — the TCML program’s European expansion is recorded from the community side (TJJ, 2022-02-26).

  • 2022-06-29 — OCAC Commissioner Tung Chen-yuan attended the 51st 美東台灣人夏令會 (TAC/EC, founded 1970) in Poughkeepsie, NY — the first post-pandemic return after two years dark — thanking the diaspora for advancing US-Taiwan relations; President Tsai sent a recorded message on second-generation identity. OCAC leadership appears inside a core Taiwanese-American summer institution’s record, not only at ROC-side events (TJJ, 2022-06-29).

  • 2022-11-20 — OCAC announced 26 new 臺灣華語文學習中心 for 2023 (22 US + Germany, Belgium, Czechia, Switzerland), bringing the total to 43 after the 2021–22 build-out; the approved list is a census of the Taiwan-oriented school network OCAC underwrites (TJJ, 2022-11-20).

  • 2022-11-27 — 世台聯合基金會 (STUF) charity dinner attendees included OCAC Vice Chairperson 呂元榮 — HOLD: this 呂元榮 does not match the page’s Deputy Roy Leu (呂欣彥); treat as a possible additional or interim vice minister, no names merged.

  • 2022-05-17 — A FASCA-LA monthly training session opened with an OCAC commissioner’s recorded address and cited OCAC programming (僑見天涯海角徵稿、僑委會 90 週年「老物品」募集 via 台美商會), showing OCAC embeds its outreach inside FASCA youth training cycles (TJJ, 2022-05-17).

  • 複核（DEEPEN-X10121500-16, 2026-10-13）：全庫 ZH+EN grep（僑務委員會／僑務委員／僑委會／OCAC／王桂榮／Kenjohn Wang／Ken John Wang）再驗證——本輪補鏈 6 筆先前未鏈接記錄（2021 仇恨犯罪應對、2021 會館台語研習會、2022 海德堡 TCML、2022 美東夏令會、2022 TCML 26 所清單、2022 FASCA-LA 月會）。其餘 hits 為重複記述、王桂榮個人傳記材料或僅 subject-link，留於王桂榮／會館相關頁面。1 筆身份衝突已 HOLD（呂元榮 vs 呂欣彥 副委員長記述）。

  • 2018 — OCAC’s summer “Language Study Program for Compatriot Youth” (SCLP) placed a 16-year-old Taiwanese-American student at Tamkang University in New Taipei City alongside other international teens “supposedly all with family from the ROC” — the program’s draw was the assumption of ROC family ties; the same summer window let her parents visit the Green Island White Terror Memorial Park to recover the years of her grandfather’s political imprisonment (record published Between My Grandfather, Taiwan, and Me, 2023-03-26).

  • 2025-06-30 — In an interview on the model-minority myth, Professor Hsin-I Cheng names OCAC — alongside TECRO and diasporic organizers — as one of the institutions whose current engagement “risks framing ‘Taiwan issues’ as conditional and strategic ‘elite issues’” — OCAC appears in a second-generation critique of how overseas outreach is aimed, not only as a service provider (A Conversation with Professor Hsin-I Cheng, Part 2, 2025-06-30).

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