President Ma Ying-jeou attended ceremonies held on the morning of December 10 to bestow the 2009 Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award. Besides congratulating Mr. Kim Seong Min, founder and director of Free North Korea Radio, who is the winner of this year's award, the president also formally announced that the Act to Implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights came into effect today. This marks a new page in the development of human rights in Taiwan, he said.
The president first congratulated Mr. Kim on winning the 2009 Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award. President Ma expressed his respect and admiration for Mr. Kim's courage and efforts in trying to promote freedom and democracy in North Korea. The president also praised the efforts of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, which is led by Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng, for promoting democratic principles and its efforts to single out individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the pursuit of democracy.
President Ma furthermore said that bestowing this award carries important meaning for Taiwan. He remarked that 22 years ago Taiwan was still under martial law and many restrictions were in place, limiting democracy and infringing upon human rights. Since the lifting of martial law, however, Taiwan has adopted constitutional amendments and passed legislation to gradually rid itself of the various laws and measures that restricted democracy and encroached upon human rights. He said that the people of Taiwan have directly elected the president of the nation since 1996. After the conclusion of last year's presidential election on March 22, United States President George W. Bush sent him a message congratulating him on winning the election and praising Taiwan as a beacon of democracy in Asia and the world. President Ma said he was touched by this message and deeply felt the responsibility that comes with the position. Today, he said, Taiwan has successfully transformed into a free and democratic nation. The president said that the ROC wants to follow in the footsteps of other advanced democracies and do its utmost to improve the status of democracy and human rights throughout the world.
President Ma remarked that the events that have taken place in Mr. Kim's achievement indicate that there is still room to improve the status of freedom and protection of human rights in the international community. The United Nations in 1966 passed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Coupled with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, these three charters form the foundation of global human rights, he said. While the ROC became a signatory to the two international covenants in 1967, the nation withdrew from the United Nations in 1971 before it had an opportunity to ratify the treaties. President Ma stressed that last year when he participated in Human Rights Day activities here, he proclaimed that the ROC should ratify these two covenants as soon as possible. The Legislative Yuan, he said, approved the two treaties in March of this year, and on May 14 he signed the instruments of ratification. Even though the ROC has been unable to have the approved covenants deposited at the United Nations for safekeeping, the ROC's moves to ratify the treaties are highly significant, the president said. President Ma commented that this proclaims to the people of the world that the ROC is a nation that embraces international human rights standards. The president said the Ministry of Justice adopted the Act to implement these two covenants to incorporate them into domestic law. He said that the Executive Yuan has set today as the date for the two covenants go into effect, and that this marks an important milestone in the protection of human rights in Taiwan.
Lastly, the president declared that this fulfills a promise that he made one year ago. In the future, he said, Taiwan will not only continue to defend democracy and human rights, but also will continue to cooperate with international human rights organizations in the promotion of these universal values.