SEOUL -- Earlier this month in Honolulu, parliamentarians from 25 Asia Pacific nations renewed debate over the digital divide at the annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum, headed by former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone.
Beyond the fact that both the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and APPF are 10 years old, the latter -- an organization numbering 100-odd lawmakers -- is APEC without the fanfare. It's not that parliamentarians are more serious than their heads-of-state counterparts in APEC, only more sensible in limiting photo-ops and other diversions and more focused in their deliberations. So what can we expect from APPF in the context of globalization?
If the downside of globalization and the focal point for the antiglobalization movement is its top-down character, then APPF -- whose members are directly elected by those most closely affected by globalization -- is by definition more representative. Thus, it has a critical role to play in generating public support for APEC's goals of free and open trade and investment along with promoting economic and technical assistance to the region's less-developed countries.