The island of 23 million people is forced to keep its endeavour at a modest level, but it is crucial for its long-term prospects of being seen as an entity in its own right, analysts said.

"Soft power is Taiwan's weapon of the weak given its limited military, economic and political resources," said Lu Yeh-chung, a political scientist at Taipei's National Chengchi University.

"It's very important for Taiwan to employ soft power as a tool to attract support from other countries."

The term "soft power" describes how a nation can succeed not only through the use of coercion or economic power but by appearing attractive in the eyes of the world, through its people, brands or values.

Taiwanese examples include Yani Tseng, who at the tender age of 22 is number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings, Hollywood director Ang Lee -- the maker of "Brokeback Mountain" -- and the world-famous Cloud Gate Dance Theatre.

For Taiwan, it makes sense to use soft power as an increasingly powerful China shows no sign of relenting in its efforts to wipe out the island's international presence. experts say.

Beijing regards self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

"Soft power is paramount to Taiwan's efforts to pursue its diplomatic objectives," said Elizabeth Larus, an expert on Chinese and Taiwanese soft power at University of Mary Washington in Virginia.

"Taiwan's soft power helps keep it from being marginalised in the international community."

Humanitarian aid is one area where Taiwan is becoming a force to be reckoned with.

President Ma Ying-jeou, who often refers to the value of soft power, said this month Taiwan had pledged about Tw$5.7 billion ($190 million) for quake and tsunami-hit Japan in a record donation of foreign aid by the island.

"Taiwan is a mighty-mouse in its humanitarian work," said Larus, adding that the direction of its efforts has changed in recognition of the overwhelming Chinese presence.

"Taiwan has re-directed aid that once built government buildings and stadiums for diplomatic partners to humanitarian aid," she said.

China's soft power efforts are partly focused around the offer of a societal model that combines a free economy with a conservative political system. Here Taiwan can present a viable alternative, analysts argued.

"While dictators and other authoritarian-leaning regimes may favour China's model, many democratic-leaning leaders in developing countries favour the Taiwan method," said Larus.

"I would suspect that Taiwan's model is being more closely studied given the turmoil in the Middle East. Observers of that turmoil can see that stifling politics can lead to a powder keg."

Paradoxically, some observers believe that Taiwan is not really pushing its soft power as much as it could do, due to a feeling that the odds are stacked against it, and any effort is in vain in the face of crushing Chinese rivalry.

"There's a kind of collective shrug at the shoulders. The inclination towards proactive behaviour seems to be lacking in Taiwan," said Gary Rawnsley, a China specialist at the University of Leeds.

It may be hard to measure the benefits of soft power, but it is still worth pursuing, according to experts.

"It's always difficult to know how the intangibles will translate into tangibles, but I think what Taiwan needs to get first is attention. It needs to get some voice in the world," said Rawnsley.

"Just get the media's attention, get the public opinion's attention, so people start to recognise what Taiwan is, where Taiwan is, recognise that it is a democracy, that it is not the People's Republic of China."

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