Former President of Liberal International Madame Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck, CALD Secretary-General Bi-Kim Hsiao, Honorable Members of the Parliament, members of CALD Executive Committee Members, Minister Chang of OCAC in Taiwan, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
I am very honored to be among the distinguished company of women and liberal activists here to share with you our struggles to advance democracy and women's rights in Asia. On behalf of the people and the government of Taiwan, I welcome all of the distinguished delegates of this General Assembly of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats. I want to thank CALD and Liberal International, especially CALD Chair President Chen and Secretary General Bi-kim Hsiao, for this opportunity.
The DPP is a founding member of CALD in 1993 and has been a member of Liberal International since 1994. In the 2000 executive committee meeting for Liberal International hosted by Taiwan, the delegates adopted the resolution on the elimination of gender discrimination, which stated in part that "the full and complete development of a country, the welfare of the world and the cause of peace require the maximum participation of women on equal terms with men in all fields." With this goal in mind, I would like to talk about the role of women in Asia's democratization.
This past year, we have witnessed the great power of Mother Nature. From the tsunami in Southeast Asia, hurricanes in the United States and Central America, to the latest tragedy caused by the earthquake in South Asia. Similar to the great shift of the tectonic plates, the 21st century is a time of tremendous change where we witnessed traditional male-dominated political power structure being shaken in many of the countries around the world.
Three days ago, Angela Merkel became the first woman chancellor in Germany. In Afghanistan, Malalai Joya, a women activist, was named as one of the first winners the parliamentary election last week. In the Asia Pacific region, Prime Minister Helen Clark of New Zealand is set to begin her third term after the election last month. In Japan, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi won one of the largest parliamentary majorities in modern Japanese history by including many young women politicians in this election, increasing the percentage of women in Japanese parliament by 26% from 34 to 43. As a matter of fact, there are currently four female heads of state in Asia, including Prime Minister Clark of New Zealand, President Arroyo of the Philippines, President Kumaratunga of Sri Lanka, and Prime Minister Zia of Bangladesh. These women are symbols of important gains in our struggles for gender equality in governance; however, it does not necessarily translate to greater political participation for women.
According to the study by Inter-Parliamentary Union, the percentage of women in parliaments of Asian countries is below the global average of 15.9%. Of these four countries headed by female, New Zealand has the highest percentage of women in its parliament at 28.3%. The Philippines, 15.3%, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, however, each has only 2% and 4.9%, among the lowest in Asia.
What is the role of women in Asia's democratization? It is to change the paradigm in our approach to democratization and democratic consolidation. Borrowing from Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen's concept in his book, Development as Freedom, women must become agents, and not merely beneficiaries, of democratization. Women must share the power to make decisions, rather than just sharing the benefits of these decisions.
As a founder of the women's movement in Taiwan and a human rights activist in Taiwan's democratization, I see my two roles as inextricably linked. I have been an active participant and witness to Taiwan's struggle for democracy. In the early 70's, I returned from the United States and started the women's movement in Taiwan, at the same time becoming involved in the opposition movement for democratization. In the famous "Kaohsiung Incident," activists gathered on December 10, 1979 to celebrate the International Human Rights Day, and I delivered the main 20-minute speech. To discredit the democratization movement, undercover government agents started a riot within the peaceful rally. Three days later, the government arrested me along with 151 other activists. Eight of us, known later as the "Kaohsiung Eight," were charged with sedition, a crime punishable by death.
In March 1980, the eight of us were tried in a martial court, represented by a group of courageous defense attorneys, including one young and intense lawyer named Chen Shui-bian. Despite their valiant efforts, the military court still sentenced us to lengthy prison terms on the basis of confessions elicited through tortures. The publicity surrounded the trial, however, opened many people's eyes to the injustice of the authoritarian regime and motivated more individuals to join the democratic movement. No one would have expected that twenty years later, in March 2000, one of the defense lawyers and one of the defendants in the Kaohsiung Incident would be elected as the president and the vice president of the country. Through an open, fair, democratic and peaceful election, the people of Taiwan replaced the authoritarian regime that once persecuted them and turned over the power in the most democratic and peaceful way. It was not only a victory for democracy, but also a victory for gender equality.
Taiwan's political miracle is not simply a result of economic prosperity. It is true that economic development in the 70's and the 80s provided Taiwan with an educated middle class that is able to effectively stand up for its rights. Taiwanese women benefited from greater access to education. This allowed the women's liberalization movement to gather steam and become an effective segment of the greater democratization movement. The feminist movement pushed the issue of gender justice to the forefront and brought in the other 50% of the population into the fight for democracy. Today, Taiwan's democratic achievement, along with its economic prosperity, has won recognition and affirmation throughout the world.
What is the secret of Taiwan's miracle? It lies in the "soft power" that I have been advocating. First described by the dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Joseph Nye, "soft power" is different from the traditional hard power used to measure a country's strength. Instead of the military and economic power that a country uses to push its adversaries into submission, soft power is one that attracts and draws other countries into partnership and cooperative relations. The soft power of Taiwan consists of: human rights, democracy, peace, love and technological innovation. The miracles of Taiwan's economy, its democracy, and its ability to preserve peace speak to the strength of Taiwan's soft power.
So how can we empower women in politics? To be empowered, women must enrich themselves with their own soft power of mercy, beauty, wisdom and courage.
Mercy. Mercy is not weakness; rather it is compassion for the fellow human being around us. To show mercy is to embrace the unfortunate, and to give hope for the hopeless. Mercy is the common language of humanity, and only with mercy can there be true peace. I have often said that 99.9% of the wars are started by men, not women. If more women make decisions in the world, it will be more peace.
Beauty. There is a saying that "beauty is a woman's scepter," but beyond her own physical beauty, a women must also beautify her our surroundings, including her government. A recent study conducted by the World Bank shows a close correlation between women's representation in parliaments and a decrease in the incidences of corruption. With more women in the government, politics will become cleaner, and nicer. With more women, politics can be beautiful.
Wisdom. There used to be a Chinese saying that "It is a virtue for a woman to be without any talent." Obviously, this was used to keep generation of women out of power. Contrary to this notion, a woman's best asset is her wisdom. Wisdom is transformation of information and knowledge through our life experiences. Instead of using our physical beauty to promote ourselves, we should rely more on our wisdom to attract and persuade.
Courage. Courage is not blind fearlessness, but a commitment to the attainment of social justice. It is to speak up against what is wrong and to speak up for what is right. While some have described women as the weaker sex, we will not use our gender as an excuse. In our struggle for democratization, we see women risking their lives and sacrificing their own liberty for the sake of others. The 1991 Nobel Peace Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, gave up her comfortable live in the UK to promote democracy in Myanmar, for which the military government took away her freedom by putting her under house arrest numerous times. In my own struggle for democracy, I have suffered and survived prison terms, cancer, and most recently, an assassination attempt. Even after I was shot in the right knee, I was able to remain clam and direct the parade to continue, in order to prevent public panic until we have arrived at the hospital. The story of women's struggle for democracy is the story of resilience and courage.
It is with these four qualities that women will break away from being the passive victims of history ("his story") and become active participants in the making of "her story." Women must stand equally with men on the forefront of the "human story." Mao Tseng-dong once said, "Women can lift up half of the sky." Today, women in Taiwan are lifting up half of the sky.
Democratization in Asia is not just history in the making, but also the making of "her story." It is the collective stories of mothers, daughters and sisters – the stories of many courageous women who have come before us, and the stories of our fellow women activists to come. It has been my story, your story, and our stories. Together, let's make history into her-story. Thank you.