Taipei, Aug. 27 (CNA) Vice President Annette Lu said Wednesday that the establishment of the Democratic Pacific Union and an upcoming Democratic Pacific Assembly is to offer a cooperation platform for the democracies surrounding the Pacific Ocean.
Lu made the remarks at a meeting with Edwin J. Feulner, president of the U.S. Heritage Foundation, who, being an old friend of Lu, also asked about Lu's recent tour to ROC's diplomatic allies in Latin America.
Lu noted that she will sponsor a Democratic Pacific Assembly in Taipei in mid-September and set up a Democratic Pacific Union with the final goal of developing the abundant resources of the nations on the Pacific rim to build a new "ocean civilization."
During the gathering, Lu and Feulner talked about the dialogue on the nuclear threat on the Korean Peninsula currently being held in Beijing. Lu said that Taiwan was also concerned about the issue.
Regarding the holding of referendums in Taiwan, Lu noted that the island was fighting alone when it was hard hit by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) earlier this year. Worse yet, mainland China did not extend a helping hand to Taiwan, but humiliated the island in the annual meeting of the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO) , an organization in which Taiwan was eager to enter.
Taiwan wants to hold referendums to let Beijing and other parts of the world understand the real feelings of the people of Taiwan, Lu said.
For his part, Feulner said the Heritage Foundation he leads has been always supportive of Taiwan. With regard to the holding of a referendum, Feulner said that judging from American experience, it is nothing odd as it is a demonstration of democracy.