President Lee Teng-hui this morning was invited to address the opening ceremony of the 68th Conference of the International Law Association held in Taipei.
The full text of President Lee's speech is as follows:
Lord Slynn, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is a great pleasure for me to declare the opening of the sixty-eighth Conference of the International Law Association. Three years have passed since we hosted the First Asian-Pacific Regional Conference of the Association here in Taipei. On behalf of the government and people of the Republic of China, I would like to extend to you a warm welcome to this Conference.
Never before, since its founding 125 years ago as the Association for the Reform and Codification of the Law of Nations, has the Conference been held in China. The Republic of China is honored to serve as the host country for this important international Conference.
Modern international law based on the sovereign equality of independent states first developed in Europe in the seventeenth century; it remained unknown to East Asia until the mid-nineteenth century. In 1864, the first Western book on international law was introduced into China by an American missionary, W. A. P. Martin, who translated Wheaton's Elements of International Law. Through this Chinese translation, the European tradition of international law was later introduced to Japan and Korea, and then to other parts of East Asia.
On January 3, 1912, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, founder and the first President of the Republic of China, stated in his policy speech following the establishment of the Republic of China that the goal of establishing the republic was for China to fulfill the obligations, and to obtain the rights of a civilized state so as "to place China in a respectable place in international society." The Republic of China is the first country in Asia to adopt the republican form of government.
It has been the consistent policy of the Republic of China, since its inception, to honor its international obligations created on the principles of equality and justice, to support the progressive development of international law and to uphold the maintenance of world order through the rule of law.
At the 1944 Dumbarton Oaks consultation held by the Republic of China, the United States and the United Kingdom on the establishment of a post-war international organization, later known as the United Nations, the Republic of China proposed that the settlement of international disputes should be achieved with due regard to the principles of justice and international law; that all disputes, regardless of origin, should be settled by peaceful means and all states should accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice; and that a commission, later known as the International Law Commission, should be established to codify international law and to draft new international conventions for their adoption. All these proposals, except the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, were adopted by the United Nations Conference on International Organizations, held in San Francisco between April 25 and June 26, 1945.
On October 24, 1945, the Charter of the United Nations entered into force and the Republic of China soon accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice without any reservation.
On December 25, 1946, the Constituent Assembly of the Republic of China, whose delegates were elected directly by the Chinese people, adopted a new Constitution, based on Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People, as a democratic republic of the people, to be governed by the people and for the people. The Constitution specifically also provided in Article 141 that the foreign policy of the Republic of China shall "respect treaties and the Charter of the United Nations." The Republic of China thus became the first country to provide in its Constitution that the United Nations Charter was the guiding principle of its foreign policy.
The establishment of the United Nations fifty-three years ago ushered in remarkable progress in the field of international law. This is reflected in the conviction of the people around the world as to certain basic principles on which today's international law firmly rests: prohibiting the use of force, peacefully settling all disputes regardless of origin, and respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion. Moreover, it is equally remarkable to observe the growing readiness of states to accept limitations on their sovereignty in the interest of achieving common goals and to see the emergence of the rights of individuals at the international level. As interstate relations have become closer, a great number of activities in many fields are now governed by international law. International cooperation is thriving in fields such as human rights, trade, communications, tourism, cultural and scientific exchange, protection of the environment and the suppression of illicit drugs, crimes and terrorism.
With the end of the Cold War and the erosion of ideological frontiers, the world is now concentrating on economic and democratic development to achieve the goal of creating the conditions of stability and well-being which are necessary for developing peaceful and friendly relations among nations, as provided in Article 55 of the United Nations Charter.
To coordinate the rapid development of all countries and their people, all of them, especially those already under a democratic government such as the Republic of China, should have appropriate status in the United Nations system. Article 1 of the U.N. Charter states that the purpose of the organization is to be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of common ends of maintaining international peace and security, in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.
To coordinate rapid development among countries of the world, it is essential to resort to international law to resolve differences in the course of achieving the common goal of maintaining peace, stability, and prosperity throughout the world.
Never before has such a multinational congregation of scholars and practitioners of international law from more than 50 countries assembled in the Republic of China to discuss international law issues of common concern. While views may differ on certain issues, I am sure that we are all bound together by the same conviction that law should govern relations between states and peoples and force should not be used to settle international disputes and domestic differences in political opinions.
Once again, it is an honor to host this Conference and I hope you enjoy your stay in the Republic of China. Thank you very much.