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.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
RSS