《TAIPEI TIMES》Legislature eyeing international affairs office in September

By Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter

The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed a preliminary review of a proposed amendment to the Organic Act of the Legislative Yuan （立法院組織法） which would establish an international affairs office.

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If a third reading of the amendment can be completed during the current legislative session, which ends this month, the office could be established as soon as the next session, which is to begin in September, Legislative Yuan Secretary-General Lin Jih-jia （林志嘉） said yesterday.

International affairs are currently handled by the public relations division of the legislature’s Secretariat, which comprises only eight people, he said.

That has proved insufficient due to the increasing numbers of delegations visiting Taiwan, Lin said, adding that the legislature sometimes has to enlist the help of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and business groups.

In the past four years, the legislature each year welcomed more than 250 delegations consisting of more than 3,000 members, which demonstrated the need to establish the office, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tang Hui-chen （湯蕙禎） said.

The division has welcomed 691 guests from 55 delegations during the current legislative session, the Secretariat said.

The new office is to have four civil servants in each of four sections, which are to be in charge of parliamentary exchanges, international cooperation, international communication and protocol-related affairs, Lin said.

After the establishment of the office, the public relations division could focus on domestic affairs, he said.

The primary duties of the office would include integrating parliamentary diplomacy tasks, actively fostering friendly relations with the parliaments of other nations, participating in international events and assisting in expanding Taiwan’s diplomatic space, he said.

The office would help deepen Taiwan’s relations with its diplomatic allies and enhance its substantial relationships with other nations, he added.

The personnel costs of the office are estimated to be about NT$33.24 million （US$1.08 million）, the legislature’s Budget Center said.

The budget for work related to parliamentary diplomacy, which is to cover the operational costs of the office, is to remain unchanged at NT$22.6 million and can be increased if needed, Lin said.

The legislative caucuses of the DPP, the Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT）, the Taiwan People’s Party and the New Power Party all proposed their own versions of the amendment, which are similar, he said.

Separately, regarding discussions of relocating the Legislative Yuan, which have been ongoing for more than 30 years, Lin said that Legislative Speaker You Si-kun （游錫?） is very serious about the plan and it is “not just talk.”

According to a report released in January, proposed new locations have been narrowed down to six — Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Park, the former Air Force Command headquarters, the Taipei Detention Center in Tucheng （土城）, the Chenggong Ling （成功嶺） military camp, Yilan County’s Chung Hsing Cultural and Creative Park and a zone near the high-speed rail station in Changhua County.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES