Ambassador Grey-Johnson of Gambia, Ambassador Ali Adoum of Chad, Ambassador Skinner-Klee of Guatemala, Ambassador Merores of Haiti, and my dear Colleagues: Good Morning!
I understand this is the very first visit to Taiwan for all the ambassadors to the UN sitting hear today except Ambassador Grey-Johnson. An old adage goes, "how delightful to have friends who come from afar." All of you are Taiwan's best friends, and I'd like to express to you my most sincere welcome on behalf of the government and the 23 million people of Taiwan.
To the ambassadors sitting here today, the UN headquarter in New York is perhaps one of the most familiar setting in your daily life. However, to the 23 million people of Taiwan, it is still inaccessible. I recall the video-conference I held with the UN correspondents on September 15 of last year, when the UN General Assembly commenced its session. During that meeting, I exchanged my views with the international press regarding Taiwan's participation in the UN. Through this arrangement, we have successfully expressed to the international society the voices of the Taiwan people, and also brought to attention the absurdity of depriving the right of the democratically elected Taiwan President to pay a visit to the UN.
The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (PRC), on March 14 of this year, passed the so-called "Anti-Secession Law", disregarding the political reality of the divided rule and absence of overlapping jurisdiction between ROC and the PRC. Such legislation intends to treat the cross-strait issues as domestic issues and to establish legal foundation for PRC's military invasion to Taiwan. Such act of unilaterally changing the peaceful status quo in the Taiwan Strait poses serious threat to peace and stability in E. Asia. It also draws grave concern and condemnation from the U.S., Japan, EU states and other countries.
The maintenance of the peaceful status quo of the Taiwan Strait is not only the goal for the people of Taiwan, but also the expectation shared by the international society. Our friendly allies, based on courage and high moral standards in safeguarding world peace, have expressed their grave concern, through open letters or statements, to China's passage of the "Anti-Secession Law" and its threat to peace and security in the Asia Pacific region. I'd like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation for your support and friendship.
"Creating a New and Stable Environment for Consultation and Dialogue" is the most faithful promise by my government and myself to the 23 million people of Taiwan and the international community. This also constitutes the fundamental stance that I have held in pursuing peaceful and stable interactions between the two sides of the Strait and the normalization of cross-strait relations.
Disputes in the Taiwan Strait must be settled through peaceful and consultative means. This is the collective expectation of the international community; and many countries, including the United States, Japan and the European Union, have all reiterated unequivocally such a stance. Taiwan, as a faithful defender of international order and the guardian of democracy and freedom, will continue to extend olive branch to China, as we have done in the past four years. At the same time, we must send a strong message: that more than 83 percent of Taiwan people oppose the passage of the so-called "Anti-Secession Law" by the Chinese authority. On March 26, in the "March for Defending Taiwan with Democracy and Peace," a million Taiwan people took to the streets to voice their protest against China—this, is the best display of the collective will—and the most humble wish—of the people of Taiwan.
Each of you is the most respected diplomat in the United Nations. I urge all of you to seize an opportune time to convey to other representatives of the UN member states that Taiwan's intent in our push to participate in the UN is not to challenge the representation of the People's Republic of China in the UN; instead, this is to advocate for the rights of the 23 million people of Taiwan to participate normally in international affairs.
I hope the Beijing authority would seriously face up to the reality that the Republic of China (Taiwan) exists. Only by upholding the principle of democracy and peace and treating each other as equal, can we then create a window of opportunity for positive developments in our bilateral relation. China has persistently obstructed Taiwan people's participation in the international community. Currently, it has deployed 725 missiles along its southeast coast, targeting Taiwan; at the same time, it has never renounced the use of force to resolve cross-strait issues. It even attempted to unilaterally change the cross-strait status quo by employing laws and non-peaceful means, as well as being both the arbitrator and the sanctioning party in cross-strait issues. What they have done is similar to placing a ticking bomb, with uncertain timetable, to cross-strait peace and regional stability that serve to further alienate Taiwan from China and cause rancor on both sides. It certainly is not conducive to the improvement of cross-strait relations.
On behalf of the government of the Republic of China and the people of Taiwan, I would like to take this opportunity to express my highest respect and most sincere gratitude to the government and people of your respective countries. Thank you for your long-term and steadfast support for Taiwan's endeavors to participate in the United Nations and other international organizations. I hope your government will continue to support us, based on the ideal of safeguarding international justice and defending international "communities of democracy."
In closing, let me once again welcome each of you. Let me also extend my best wishes to your country and your respective presidents for continued prosperity; and to all of you, good health and much success!