Taipei, June 21 (CNA) "Parliament diplomacy" can help Taiwan pave an alternative path in carving out its role in the international arena and deserves more credit, attention and resources, Taiwan's legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng said Monday.
Speaking to dozens of future diplomats in a training class, Wang said this type of diplomacy will help Taiwan develop its "smart power" to gain mutual benefit for Taiwan and other countries.
He defined parliamentary diplomacy as the speaker or deputy speaker of the parliament visiting and receiving foreign parliamentarians, attending international meetings and organizations or establishing "Friends of Taiwan" groups to increase Taiwan's international exposure and visibility.
"The Legislative Yuan is the official branch of Taiwan's government, but at the same time it also plays a role as a democratic body in representing the people," Wang said.
"That is why the parliament is not that 'sensitive' an institution in the arena of diplomacy, where China has been blocking Taiwan's 'traditional diplomacy' for years." Taiwan is able to take advantage of parliamentary diplomacy as an unconventional path in developing relations with foreign countries, especially those that do not establish official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, said Wang, 69.
The Legislative Yuan has been very active in developing relationships with foreign parliaments, especially in the U.S., Japan and Europe, he said.
During the current legislature that began in February 2008, the Legislature has received 34 presidential or congressional delegations, 764 foreign delegations and 13,958 foreign parliamentarians.
Wang told his audience that his friendship with former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso dates back 30 years and the relationship between Taiwanese and Japanese parliamentarians has always been strong.
That relationship, he said, explains why Taiwan was able to maintain solid relations with Japan after a Taiwanese fishing vessel sank in Japanese-controlled Tiaoyutai waters following a collision with a Japanese ship, sparking diplomatic tensions between the two countries in June 2008.
Similarly solid relations between Taiwan and the European Parliament, Wang suggested, prevented the European body from condemning Taiwan after the government executed four death row inmates in April, the first executions in Taiwan in almost five years.
The body's aggressive approach in participating in international organizations, including the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) , Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) and Parliament of the Americas (COPA) , drew China's intervention despite the diplomatic truce which Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has been advocating, Wang said.
Parliamentary diplomacy deserves more attention and resources because parliaments in all countries have an impact on their countries foreign policies, he contended. (By Chris Wang) enditem/ls