Vice President Lu, Dean Hurd, Senior Advisor Chang, Minister Chien, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Good evening.
On this fine evening, we are fortunate to share this wonderful moment in history together. I am delighted to extend my sincere congratulations to Vice President Lu for being accorded the honor of the Alumni Achievement Award from the College of Law, University of Illinois. This year, the College has initiated a program to honor its prominent alumni from abroad. Those who are being commended not only have distinguished accomplishments in their specialty but also represent the sublime values of the expertise of law.
Vice President Lu has put these values into practice since she studied at the University of Illinois. She is one of the first foreign graduates of the College of Law, University of Illinois to receive this award. She has earned herself the reputation and recognition with her distinction and it is the pride of the 23 million people of Taiwan.
Vice President Lu is not only admired for her academic achievements but also her impressive devotion to Taiwan, particularly in the area of diplomacy. She has established solid friendship between Taiwan and its allies through "soft diplomacy." Based upon human rights, democracy, love, peace and high technology, she has brought the spirit of "soft diplomacy" to full play. She has strengthened Taiwan's diplomatic relations with the allies--from bottom to top, from private sector to public sector, from the grassroots to the overall level--and has promoted Taiwan's status in the international arena.
For example, immediately after returning from her visit to Latin America, Vice President Lu initiated a campaign called, "Solidarity with Latin America, Taiwan's Love" to help promote the products of our Latin American allies through the establishment of the "Latin Square", to adopt impoverished and orphaned children and to encourage local businessmen to invest in Central America. All of these activities have helped strengthen our friendship with Latin America, serving as one of the best testaments to her mission of "traveling around the world for the cause of Taiwan."
In addition, Vice President Lu holds a very important place in the development of democracy and human rights in Taiwan. During the era of authoritarian rule, many foreign preachers, media workers, teachers and human rights advocates experienced monitoring, arbitrary expulsion, being blacklisted and had their lives ruined and property damaged by the then-ruling party and intelligence agency. All of this, however, did not diminish their strong love and deep affinity for Taiwan. Vice President Lu not only witnessed these historical events but also played a significant role as well. She has long embraced truth, defended human rights, and pursued democracy. Under the concerted efforts of Vice President Lu and all of you, I believe that Taiwan’s democracy and human rights will continue to be even more fruitful in the future.
It is a great honor for me to join you on this joyous occasion, and I would like to thank each of you for coming to Taiwan. In particular, I wish to extend my sincerest welcome to the delegation from the College of Law, University of Illinois, and to express, once again, my congratulations to Vice President Lu on receiving this honor. In closing, I wish all of you good health and happiness. Thank you.