Incoming legislators and their caucuses must consider the importance of legislative diplomacy, Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫?) said yesterday in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times).
During his time as speaker, You was a great proponent of legislative diplomacy and arranged many visits to legislative bodies in the US, Japan and Europe.
Parliamentary diplomacy is an important strategy that helps sidestep Taiwan’s diplomatic constraints, he said, adding that the strategy should focus on democratic, non-ally countries, such as the Czech Republic and Lithuania.
Photo: Taipei Times
He said that a prime example was the historic visit of Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil, who was the first parliamentary leader from a country that is not a diplomatic ally to speak at the Legislative Yuan.
Subsequent visits from Czech Chamber of Deputies President Marketa Pekarova Adamova and Lithuanian Parliament Speaker Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen show that Taiwan has made breakthroughs regarding its international diplomacy, You said.
However, the divergent stances on cross-strait issues among the three main political parties would affect how active the incoming speaker will be in pushing legislative diplomacy, he added.
If the new speaker places more emphasis on Beijing’s opinions, they are unlikely to push much for a policy of unity, he said.
It would be a shame not to support a method that is working, he said, urging incoming lawmakers to “consider the importance of legislative diplomacy” when voting for a speaker.
It is possible that a minority party would be a “leading” force in the legislature, You said, citing the Lithuanian parliament as an example, with Cmilyte-Nielsen heading it despite her party having only one-10th of the seats.
In Taiwan’s legislative elections on Saturday last week, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) claimed 52 seats, the Democratic Progressive Party won 51, the Taiwan People’s Party garnered eight and two seats went to independents, meaning a coalition would be required to form a majority.
That “might not happen during the next legislative session,” You said, adding that minority parties playing a leading role is “a constant in democratic politics.”
The new legislative speaker should strive for neutrality, and refrain from attending party events and caucus meetings, he said.
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