Taiwan’s Parliamentary Diplomacy

Abstract

This chapter first looks at parliamentarians and parliamentary institutions as actors (agents). It then analyses the participation of Taiwanese parliamentarians in international relations and their contribution to the development of Taiwan's parliamentary diplomacy, individually or as members of their parliament, the Legislative Yuan (LY). Since international parliamentary relations have become increasingly complex with various parliamentary institutions participating, particular attention is paid to the participation of Taiwanese parliamentarians with and within those institutions: national parliaments, international parliamentary associations, parliamentary organs of international governmental organizations, and party alliances. From the perspective of international relations, the chapter studies how these institutions respond to the initiatives and/or preferences of Taiwanese parliamentarians whose mission is to promote inter-parliamentary cooperation and advocate Taiwan's foreign policy interests. In this regard, two inter-connected questions are discussed.