The Republic of Somalia’s Election Committee Visits CCW

2024 is described by foreign media as a “super election year” with close to seventy-six
countries heading to the polls. At the same time, foreign media and expert scholars are
focusing more on the problem of democratic decline, and whether or not the democratic
system as a whole can survive. In the next four days, Taiwan is about to hold its presidential
and congressional elections on January 13th, and the whole world is watching its result and
impact. On January 8th, the Chairman of the National Election Committee in the Republic of
Somalia, Hon. Musa Hassan Yousuf led a delegation to visit Citizen’s Congress Watch
(CCW), to understand the role that Taiwan’s civil group’s play in its democratic society!
From CCW, the convener of the International Affairs Committee, Xie Dong-Ru, Honorary
Financial Committee Member Li Sancai, CEO Zhang Honglin and Deputy CEO James Kan
were responsible for their reception.
During the meeting, Deputy CEO James Kan introduced CCW’s work to the attendees. He
explained the importance of civic oversight in a democratic society through the aspects of
parliamentary evaluation, reform advocacy, legislative education, local monitoring, and
international networking. He emphasized that only by increasing public awareness of the
current shortcomings in parliamentary operations can the mechanism of self-reflection in a
democratic society be effectively utilized, leading to a positive cycle of improvement.
Additionally, after hearing about CCW's activities, friends from the Republic of Somalia
expressed that although there are some civil groups concerned with public affairs in their
country, there is still a lack of a parliamentary oversight group. This led to a lively exchange
between both parties.
CCW looks forward to more international exchanges, connecting with more like-minded
partners on the path of democracy, and deepening civil society!