Your Holiness:
Happy New Year!
Upon reading Your Holiness' Message for the 37th World Day of Peace for the Year 2004, "An Ever Timely Commitment: Teaching Peace," I feel keenly that it is a very timely appeal in a time of increasing international conflict and terrorism. I would like to express my deep empathy with Your Holiness' proposal to address "leaders of the nations, who have the duty of promoting peace."
I sincerely hope that world leaders will all be moved and inspired by Your Holiness' message, and take to heart the important instruction within: Humanity today "needs a greater degree of international ordering" based on caring, justice and morality. It's my firm belief that the most important responsibility for us at this stage is to teach the culture of peace in order to prepare a better future for all mankind.
As Your Holiness is aware, in our part of the world, two divided nations still face each other with fingers on the trigger. Nevertheless, a dialogue between the two Koreas is underway thanks to international mediation. Taiwan, however, still lies under the shadow of military threats from the People's Republic of China. Over the past three years, with utmost sincerity and goodwill, this administration has made strenuous efforts in creating a positive environment for cross-strait relations, based on the principles of reconciliation, cooperation, and peace. However, Beijing has never renounced its intention to use force against Taiwan. The leadership there even makes a point of announcing time and time again that they will never rule out the use of military force. Obviously, the voice of peace of the 23 million people, and their right to live free from fear, do not receive the respect and positive response they deserve.
As Your Holiness stated, "international law must ensure that the law of the more powerful does not prevail. Its essential purpose is to replace the material force of arms with the moral force of law." I could not agree more, and I would like to reiterate that the ROC is prepared to resolve the disputes between the two sides peacefully at any time. We look forward to the resumption of peace talks with Beijing on an equal footing. It is also our hope that Beijing can accept with sincerity the democratic choice made by the people of Taiwan. We shall seek to dissolve differences and work together towards a permanent peace across the strait.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Your Holiness for your longstanding support of Taiwan's democracy. I sincerely hope that the year 2004 will be a peaceful and loving year for international dialogues. I wish love and peace that Your Holiness pray for will always be with us.
I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to Your Holiness the assurance of my highest consideration.