Legislators from both sides of the aisle have expressed support for creating an “Office of International Affairs” within the legislature. Taiwan has recently scored a number of diplomatic wins through cooperation between legislators of friendly countries. This includes visits from the Czech Senate President Miloš Vystrčil and an upcoming visit from the Speaker of the Czech House of Representatives Markéta Pekarová Adamová in March.
Such visits from legislative leaders are a way to skirt around sensitivities about diplomatic relations with countries that maintain a one-China policy. Beijing strictly forbids heads of state from such countries to visit Taiwan. Given the increasing role that inter-parliamentary relations are playing in Taiwanese diplomacy, some legislators would like to see an office dedicated to such issues.
Members of the KMT, DPP and TPP have all said they support the creation of such an office, and that it would be an effective way to break through the diplomatic barriers of the one-China policy. However, the office would still need to pass a number of procedural hurdles in order to be created by the legislature.