As Taiwan's foreign minister, observed, it is "crucial for all the people of Taiwan to engage in diplomatic work."
It is believed that many of Taiwan's NGOs are actively engaged in such activities.
For example, in January 2001, the Taiwan International Medical Alliance was established by a group of medical professionals. The organization has one key objective: to help Taipei achieve its long-standing goal of becoming a member of the WHO. The Taiwanese now participate in over 1,000 NGOs.
A vast majority of the Taiwanese population support recent moves to employ people-to-people diplomacy and other unconventional tactics to achieve the nation's foreign policy goals.
As one Taiwanese lawmaker quipped, most agree with the old adage that "diplomacy is too important to be left to the diplomats."
Obviously, people-to-people diplomacy is not the only factor or perhaps even a critical determinant when one seeks to explain how Taiwan manages successfully to circumvent a powerful foe determined to isolate it internationally and engineer its demise as a sovereign state.
However, Taiwan's novel approach to international relations is certainly a contributing factor and one that merits further study and investigation.
Dennis Hickey is professor of Political Science and University Fellow in Research at Southwest Missouri State University.
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