China's Taiwan Affairs Office Restructures, New 10th Bureau to Focus on Taiwanese Studying and Working in China

China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) recently restructured its internal departments, renaming 11 bureaus with numerical designations. In terms of functional adjustments, the former Legal Affairs Bureau and Complaint Coordination Bureau were merged into the '9th Bureau,' while a new '10th Bureau' was established to specifically handle matters related to Taiwanese people studying, interning, working, and starting businesses in mainland China. The TAO website announced the adjustments on the 26th. While the number of bureau-level agencies remains at 12, 11 of them have been renamed with numbers, and their responsibilities have been slightly modified. The key changes are as follows: The former Secretariat Bureau is now the '1st Bureau,' responsible for daily operations and document management. The former Comprehensive Bureau is now the '2nd Bureau,' handling daily work for the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and coordinating emergency events. The former Research Bureau is now the '3rd Bureau,' focusing on Taiwan Strait situation research. The former Information Bureau is now the '4th Bureau,' handling press conferences and Taiwan journalist accreditation. The former Economic Bureau is now the '5th Bureau,' managing cross-strait 'Three Links' and economic trade affairs. The former Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan Affairs Bureau is now the '6th Bureau,' handling Taiwan-related matters in Hong Kong and Macao. The former Exchange Bureau is now the '7th Bureau,' managing cultural, educational, and health exchanges. The former Liaison Bureau is now the '8th Bureau,' handling contacts with Taiwan political parties and groups. The former Legal Affairs and Complaint Coordination bureaus were merged into the '9th Bureau,' responsible for legal affairs and handling complaints from Taiwanese compatriots. The newly established '10th Bureau' is dedicated to Taiwanese compatriots studying, interning, working, and starting businesses in the mainland. The former Political Party Bureau is now the '11th Bureau,' focusing on research into Taiwan's political parties. The Party Committee (Personnel Bureau) remains unchanged.