Chiang Pin-kung, former vice chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, passed away Monday in Taipei at the age of 85, the KMT said in a statement.

Chiang died of multiple organ failure, according to a statement from the Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei.

He was rushed to the hospital after suddenly collapsing at a restaurant at the Regent Taipei hotel during dinner Saturday.

Chiang was also the former chairman of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and former vice president of the Taiwan-based council of the summit for entrepreneurs across the Taiwan Strait.

He was born on December 16, 1932, in Nantou County, Taiwan, and received his PhD from the University of Tokyo in 1971.

He became vice chairman of the KMT in 2003 and in May 2008, he became chairman of the SEF and had been in the position for four years. 

Chiang was viewed as a big contributor to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

From 2008 to 2012, Jiang held eight talks with Chen Yunlin, chairman of Chinese mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, and signed 18 agreements, including the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA).

In November 2008, he signed a series of documents in Taiwan with the visiting delegation led by Chen, leading to direct links in mail, transport and trade across the Taiwan Strait.