Taipei, June 26 (CNA) Republic of China President Chen Shui-bian told visiting environmental experts on Monday that environmental protection -- just like pollution--has no boundaries and is even more of a universal value than freedom, democracy, and human rights.
Chen received the foreign guests just before Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-seh gave a speech on the issue of "finite earth and infinite exploitation" at a monthly Presidential Office assembly.
Chen said that the crisis brought about by the depletion of the ozone layer and the greenhouse effect deserves study and attention.
He went on to say that a recent suggestion to establish a ministry of environment and energy is "a good direction" for the government to follow as part of its re-engineering efforts. He added that projects on environmental protection, energy, and desalination on Taiwan's outlying islands to counter a lack of fresh water resources there will be "very helpful" for Taiwan.
He further pointed out that there is only one earth, so the environment must be cherished, and added that this generation has no right to destroy the natural ecology. He urged the protection and nurturing of the environment while pursuing economic growth.
Chen reiterated an earlier call to build Taiwan into a "green silicon island" that is not only an innovator in the world's information applications and a leader in digital economy, but also a "wise island" that continues to base its developments on the humanities, the "green revolution," and eternal growth.
The visiting environmental experts included Wim Van Vierssen, director of Holland's International Water Conservancy and Environmental Protection Institute; Masahiro Murakami, trustee of the International Water Resource Organization.