Your Excellency Chin, Former Primer Minister Lee, Representative Lee Tsai-Fang, DPU delegates, esteemed members of the parliament, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
On behalf of the Democratic Pacific Union, I welcome you to the 2006 West Pacific Regional Convention. Although I really wish to be there in person, Taiwan's unique diplomatic situation prevents me from being there physically. I want to express my appreciation to the Korean government and to the former prime minister, the Honorable Lee Han-Dong, who will be sharing his thoughts with our delegates.
Last year, the DPU held two very successful regional meetings in Guatemala and in Japan. This West Pacific Regional Convention, however, is the first one after the DPU's inauguration, and it is thus an important milestone for the development of the West Pacific region. I would like to especially thank the staff of DPU Korea, in particular, Dr. Woong-Kyu Cho, as well as Taiwan's Representative Lee Tsai-fang for their efforts in making this convention possible. DPU Korea is the first country chapter outside of Taiwan, and we are very impressed that it is able to take on such an important project shortly after its establishment. I hope that the success of this convention and of DPU Korea will serve as models for more country chapters in the near future.
Few people are aware of how the fate of Korea and that of Taiwan have intertwined since the late 19th Century. In 1894, China sent troops to Korea in response to the Donghak Peasant Revolution, an act that later led to Japan's military intervention in Korea and the first Sino-Japanese War. After Japan's victory in that war, China signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki in April, 1895, agreeing to stay out of Korea and ceding a large portion of Chinese territory and Taiwan to Japan in perpetuity. More than 50 years later, the Korea war led the United States to intervene both in the Korea peninsula and also in the Taiwan Strait, effectively protected Taiwan from further aggression by the Chinese Communists. Besides, the Republic of Korea has been one of Taiwan's oldest allies, and our official diplomatic ties did not sever until 1991. I hope that this Convention serves as the beginning of a new chapter in the Korea-Taiwan relationship and rekindles the longstanding friendship between our countries, so that we can cooperate and unite in our efforts for the betterment of the West Pacific region.
The 21st Century belongs to the Pacific region, as it currently accounts for more than one-half of the world's economy, one-third of the worlds area and one-third of the world's population. Globalization has helped to spur a tremendous economic growth in Asia, where large developing countries are taking advantage of the increased globalization and outsourcing opportunities to achieve double-digit growth. In many areas, such as high technology and even in some medical sectors, developed countries in the West Pacific region have surpassed European countries and even the United States. In addition to the economic development, many countries have also made significant progress in their democratic development.
Yet this region continues to face old and new challenges. Many countries in the West Pacific region are still under authoritarian regimes and newly democratized countries faces the difficult task of democratic consolidation. In addition, the economic rise of large developing countries created a spiked demand for energy and caused the rapid depletion of natural resources.
The West Pacific region is a diverse region, with very different cultures, languages, religions and histories. While these may be the source of conflicts, they are also our richest assets. The West Pacific region has suffered colonialism, ethnic strives and much bloodshed in the 20th Century that were the result of unchecked pursuit for the accumulation of wealth and military power - the two measurements of a country's hard power. We have already seen in the 21st century that the traditional desire of states to expand their hard power has not created greater stability or peace, nor has it ensured sustainable prosperity for the developing countries. These struggles for hard power are, at best, zero-sum games, where the winner takes the spoils, and in many cases, the struggle for hard power becomes a negative-sum game, as in the case of war and military conflicts. In the integrated world of the 21st Century, a country's well-being is ever-increasingly depending on the well-being of other countries, and the zero- or negative-sum approach benefits none and harms everyone. Without our intervention and a change in our traditional thinking, we will be doomed to repeat our history of mistakes and foolishness.
It is thus ever more important for us to advocate and practice the idea of soft power, which only grows through sharing and strengthens through understanding . It is a positive-sum game that is critical in an era of interdependence where we share the fate of all others in the world. Democracy, peace and prosperity--the founding values of the DPU--are thus critical for the West Pacific region in this important juncture of history.
As of 2006, only five Communist regimes remain in the world: China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam, four of which are located in Asia. Some have wondered that Asian cultures, being influenced by Confucian model of society, is incompatible with the idea of democracy. Yet the successful development of democracy in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan proves that democracy can exist and even flourish in some of the most traditional Confucian states. In fact, if one is to read Confucius carefully, one will find that the idea of soft power is rooted in the Confucian traditions. There is a Confucian teaching that "a mediocre ruler rules with an iron fist, while a great king leads with moral authority." The Confucian teaching of "rule through morality" (德治) as "way of the benevolence" (王道) as opposed to the way of the hegemony (霸道) reflects the essence of soft power - it is the ability of a person or a country to influence others based on his own moral attractiveness, rather than through military coercion or economic payment. I believe that the value of democracy must be integrated into our own Asian culture. Our different culture should not be used by some as an excuse not to embrace the global value of democracy. Rather, it is through our common democratic value can we embrace the diversity of our cultures.
I believe that when our countries share the common value of democracy, there will be stability and a lasting peace within our region. History shows that no democratic country has gone to war with another democracy. Not so long ago, our countries fought bitterly against one another to gain control of the West Pacific region, yet today, we are able to gather here for the common good of the same region. The difference is democracy. While military expansion and hegemony may preserve temporary stability, the use of military might will only bring death and destruction, as the United States is learning in its occupation of Iraq. We are reminded the words of Martin Luther King Jr. that "Peace is not the absence of conflicts, but the presence of justice." When justice is served and preserved through democratic institution, authoritarian regimes and terrorists will shortly lose their supports and wither away.
Only through the value of democracy and peace can we then ensure sustainable prosperity for all. Without democracy, the pursuit of economic prosperity only widens the gap between the rich and the poor. Without peace, such a pursuit may become the source of desperate arms race and create the potential for catastrophic military conflicts. DPU's value-oriented approach to prosperity puts democracy and peace first, and this is what separates the DPU from other regional economic alliances such as APEC and ASEAN. It helps to bring a sense of humanity in our discussion of the development and cooperation in the creative and high-technology industries. Thus, while we share our experience and accomplishment in these areas, we will discuss the need to bridge the cultural and the digital divide. It will help us build a model for development that is both sustainable and just, and is one that can be shared to benefit all.
Since its inauguration last year, DPU has organized a Symposium on Election Reform and established the Pacific Center for Disaster Reduction. We will also set up the Pacific Congressional Caucus and the League of Pacific Universities in the near future. Following the West Pacific Regional Convention in Korea, there will be a Symposium on Avian Flu in Indonesia in July and a Symposium on Congressional Reform in Taipei in August. The DPU's scholarship and fellowship programs have continued to grow, and we will have 30 graduate students participating in the scholarship program in the upcoming school year. The success of these projects will continue to strengthen soft power the Pacific area as well as the rest of the world. We expect that DPU Korea will cooperate on some of these and other DPU projects in the near future.
Those of us from the West Pacific region have a greater responsibility to the world because the Pacific Ocean holds the future of the 21st Century. Let us alter the path of history from that of destruction to that of cooperation, from a basic instinct of hoarding to a culture of sharing. Together with the other DPU members from the East Pacific region, let us create a new Pacific region based on the blue civilization of democracy rather than dictatorship, peace instead of conflicts, and prosperity in place of poverty. With democracy, peace and prosperity as the core value for the development of our region, let us usher in a new Pacific Century for the benefit of all. Let the DPU become the cradle of the Blue Civilization.
Thank you.