President Lee Teng-hui today made a speech during a ceremonial luncheon of the Asian Wall Street Journal, which celebrated the launching of the paper's printing operations in Taiwan.
The full text of President Lee's speech is as follows:
Today, the Asian Wall Street Journal celebrates the launching of its printing operations in Taiwan. I would like to use this occasion to offer my special congratulations.
Your newspaper is known throughout the world for reporting on financial, economic, and business news, and for being an important source of information for grasping commercial opportunities and gaining competitive advantage. Therefore, when I heard that you were interested in printing the daily edition in Taiwan, I immediately decided to give you my full support. Receiving the newspaper at 9 o'clock in the morning rather than at 5 o'clock in the afternoon will significantly improve the ability of the business community in Taiwan to measure the pulse of the world economy and to create profitable commercial opportunities. At the same time, as the first international newspaper to be printed in Taiwan, your presence will have deep and far-reaching significance on the future development of the media industry in the Republic of China. Therefore, I am extremely pleased to see the realization of your newspaper's plan today, and would like to express my admiration for the foresight of Dow Jones & Company to select the Republic of China as another expansion base for the Asian Wall Street Journal.
Dow Jones & Company is a world renowned media group and the Asian Wall Street Journal enjoys vast influence in Asia. According to a survey by the ABC organization in Hong Kong, the majority of your readers, myself included, are government policy-makers, public opinion leaders, and executives in the business and financial world. Furthermore, in surveys of reader habits, business and industrial leaders oftentimes rated the Asian Wall Street Journal as one of the most important financial and business readings. The reasons for your newspaper receiving the affirmation and acknowledgment of readers around the world lie in your insistence on cautious objectivity, your building a professional image for accuracy and impartiality, and your applying a broad view to regional and global events. Your newspaper employs a very conscientious attitude in presenting your analysis regardless of whether the topic concerns politics, diplomacy, military affairs, or the environment, thereby allowing your readers to analyze the issues comprehensively. Moreover, you have sufficiently demonstrated the social responsibility of the media in your advocating the ideals of democracy and rule of law, and in your consideration for upholding social ethics. Hence, besides directly supplying our people with the most up-to-date business and financial news, and strengthening our economic relations and interactions with other countries, the publication of Asian Wall Street Journal in the Republic of China can serve as a reference and model for our press here in Taiwan.
Presently, the Republic of China is vigorously promoting our plan to develop Taiwan into the Asian Pacific Regional Operations Center, which includes an Asian Pacific media center. These past few years, with technological improvements, rising educational levels, and the high degree of openness in society, the media industry in my country has made marked progress in terms of both quantity and quality. Not only can they satisfy the public's thirst for information, but they also make an impact by reflecting public opinion, scrutinizing government actions, and establishing pluralistic values, thereby becoming a new force for social progress. In order to attract more international media to expand their operations in the Republic of China, so that our people will receive current news within the shortest amount of time, we are now completing a comprehensive review of relevant laws and regulations. Presently, several international media organizations are preparing to expand their operations in Taiwan, clearly indicating that the gradual maturity of the free and democratic society of the Republic of China has received the affirmation of the international media. We sincerely welcome media from other countries to establish a new base in the Republic of China so that together, we can strive to enhance the prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region.
Lastly, I wish the publication of the Asian Wall Street Journal a success and to each and every one, good health and happiness. Thank you.