President Tsai Ing-wen kicked off the 2021 Open Parliament Forum—Open Parliament in a Post-COVID Context: Global Examples of Resilience and Planning for 2022 and Beyond—staged Dec. 2 in Taipei City, reaffirming the government’s commitment to expanding resilient partnerships with members of the democratic world, according to the Presidential Office.
Taiwan’s governmental, parliamentary and civil society organizations have been working together to achieve open government and parliament, Tsai said. This is evidenced by the Legislative Yuan’s Open Parliament Action Plan and the Executive Yuan’s Open Government National Action Plan launched earlier this year, she added.
In this regard, the country has also been strengthening cooperation with partners of the Global Cooperation and Training Framework while strengthening exchanges with those outside the Indo-Pacific, such as European countries, she said.
According to Tsai, as a front-line state defending a democratic way of life, Taiwan is willing to share its experience while collaborating with like-minded partners worldwide to safeguard the universal values of freedom and democracy. She also expressed that the forum is expected to help forge a stronger alliance between democracies to bolster collective resilience in the face of rising authoritarianism.
Echoing Tsai’s remarks, Czechia Senate President Milos Vystrcil said during his speech that civic engagement, responsible political leaders, and making use of technology and innovation are the key to open governance and an open legislature.
Organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Legislative Yuan, the Taipei-based Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation and U.S.-headquartered nonprofit the National Democratic Institute, 100 experts and lawmakers from countries such as Belize, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the U.S. took part in the two-day event. High-profile attendees included Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu; Valerie Woods, speaker of the Belize House of Representatives; and Maria Baron, global executive director of Argentina-based The Directory of Legislators and lead co-chair of the U.S.-headquartered Open Government Partnership.
According to the MOFA, among those sending congratulatory messages are Shinzo Abe, former Japan prime minister; Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; and Sir Lindsay Hoyle, speaker of the U.K. House of Commons.
In a tweet on its official account, the MOFA said: “Plenty of 1st-class democracy talent taking part in #Taiwan’s Open Parliament Forum! A big thanks to around 100 participants from 20 countries, including @AmbDMitchell, Speaker Woods, @Vystrcil_Milos, @MariaBaronOK & well-wishers @AbeShinzo, @SpeakerPelosi & @LindsayHoyle_MP.” (YCH-E)
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