U.K. and Taiwan Collaborate on ‘Smart Parliament’ Initiative

Taipei: The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) and the U.K.'s Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) have issued a joint statement to promote "smart parliament" initiatives. According to Focus Taiwan, the announcement was made during a signing ceremony in Taipei, where WFD board member Duncan Hames emphasized the joint commitment to enhancing safety, multistakeholder participation, artificial intelligence, responsiveness, and transparency in parliamentary processes. Hames highlighted the potential of this collaboration to foster democratic values and practices, leveraging technological advancements to enhance democratic procedures globally. Hames also noted the similarity between the TFD and WFD, describing them as sister organizations supported by their respective parliaments. TFD Chairperson and Legislative Yuan Speaker Han Kuo-yu underscored Taiwan's progress in gender equality, pointing out that 47 of Taiwan's 113 parliamentarians are female. Han expressed Taiwan's eagerness to build internation al partnerships to further promote democracy. The joint statement was formally signed by WFD CEO Anthony Smith and TFD President Liao Da-chi. The WFD, established in 1992, is a U.K. nondepartmental public body focused on supporting democratic institutions abroad, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Meanwhile, the TFD is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization in Taipei, funded by Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aiming to promote democracy on an international scale.