Mr. Chairman; Esteemed Presidents and Prime Ministers; Distinguished Guests; Ladies and Gentlemen:
Let me start by saying how honored I am to have this opportunity to speak to you, as the discussions to follow are intimately related to the various cooperative development projects of Taiwan and its Pacific allies. We endeavor to show the world how Taiwan works closely with other Pacific island countries to forge ahead toward prosperity for all.
Looking back at the past century, mankind has learned harsh lessons from two world wars, most particularly that reliance on military force cannot resolve the complex issues facing the world. They have taught us that countries should instead be encouraged to cooperate in the pursuit of development. We have borne witness to the recovery of Western European countries from the post-war destruction and to the prosperity they have achieved with the help of the United States and its Marshall Plan. Now that European countries have devoted themselves to helping developing countries, newly emerging industrial countries in Asia and Latin America have gradually shed poverty and embraced prosperity. This model, in which developed countries assist developing countries, has resulted in tremendous achievements over the past few decades, improving the lives of countless people.
Originally a poor and backward agricultural society, Taiwan has achieved rapid development over the past six decades, creating the so-called Taiwan miracle and becoming a modern country with high-tech enterprises as its major pillar. Still more important than the hard-working spirit of the people of Taiwan, what made this achievement possible was the international community's provision of the assistance required for development. Such aid enabled Taiwan to obtain sufficient capital, key technologies, and access to a vast market. It can be said that without such international assistance and cooperation, today's highly prosperous Taiwan would have been an impossibility.
Now that Taiwan has successfully entered the ranks of developed countries, we are extremely grateful for all the assistance rendered to us in the past. Therefore, we are very happy to share our capital, technologies, and developmental experience with our Pacific allies, and to be partner in mutual comprehensive development, in order to enhance the prosperity of the Pacific region and the welfare of its peoples.
From Taiwan's developmental experience, one can understand that comprehensive social development and economic prosperity depend on sound infrastructure, including transportation, electricity, public health, education, telecommunications, as well as a self-sufficient food supply.
Taiwan's current top-priority task, therefore, is to assist each Pacific ally to build its infrastructure. In recent years, we have spared no effort to cooperate with our Pacific allies in major construction projects connected with their livelihoods and economic development. Such projects have included the construction of transportation systems and administrative buildings, as well as medical care and educational facilities. For example, we helped build a solar power system on outlying atolls of the Marshall Islands and, in Kiribati, the Betio Sports Complex. Other projects we have supported include urban renewal planning in Palau, a central government administrative complex in Tuvalu, the Central Hospital in the Solomon Islands, and ship-mooring facilities in Nauru. Such are the concrete results of cooperation between Taiwan and its allies.
In terms of public health, in order to enhance the quality of medical care in our allied countries, Taiwan has organized a mobile medical mission to provide free medical services. This year the mission has visited the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, and Palau. Shortly, it will leave for the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Nauru. In addition, the mission also solicits donations of medicines in Taiwan and provides training to our allies' medical personnel. We hope to enhance public health standards and people's lives in these countries through long-term cooperation in the fields of medical care and public health. In the future, Taiwan will station physicians in these countries on a long-term basis so they can become more familiar with their peoples, understand their countries' needs, and, together, formulate concrete, feasible programs.
In addition, Taiwan and its allies have made significant achievements in agricultural cooperation in hopes of raising the living standards and ensuring the food supplies in these countries. To date, Taiwan has dispatched agricultural missions to its six Pacific allies to help their peoples develop their agriculture, animal husbandry, and aquaculture industries. The model farms established by Taiwan in these countries epitomize the level of sophistication Taiwan has developed in the agriculture and fishery industries over the past half century. We not only share the fruits of our cultivated areas with these nations' peoples, but also transfer our technologies and know-how to them. This is being done in hopes that the training of individuals will gradually lead to the raising of benchmarks for nationwide agriculture. In the future, we will continue to increase the level of technological sophistication in every aspect of our allies' agricultural sectors through the introduction of modern agricultural management systems, such as production and marketing networks and micro-loan projects. It is our hope that the spirit and developmental experience of Taiwan's agriculture can take root and flourish in every Pacific island nation.
Besides the above projects, Taiwan also enjoys other forms of cooperation with you in such areas as fishery, information, education, humanitarian assistance, and culture. We shall continue to strengthen all of these programs based on their existing foundations. It is also my personal hope that we will gradually enter into cooperation with each other in the areas of tourism, transportation, economic and trade issues, and counterterrorism so as to build firmer ties.
Taiwan has engaged in cooperation with its allied governments concerning sustainable development under the framework of programs being promoted by the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. In May of this year, Taiwan dispatched experts to New York to brief our allies' representatives there on Taiwan's developmental experience touching on three areas of great concern: climate change, wastewater management, and sustainable energy. This evoked a highly appreciative response.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the heads of state of our Pacific allies for staunchly supporting Taiwan's efforts to join the WHO over the years. Although our aspiration to gain WHO observership has not been realized, with your help, the WHO has accepted the ground-breaking proposal for our "meaningful participation," therein manifesting the universal value of "medical care transcending national borders." Taiwan hopes to one day join forces with its allies as an equal member in the WHO to advance the well-being of the world's people.
Gazing upon the same blue Pacific Ocean, Taiwan shares the same desire of its allies to seek sustainable development strategies to become stronger and make its people more blessed. I am convinced that, through various types of well-coordinated cooperative projects, Taiwan and its allies will overcome all difficulties to create a Pacific development miracle! Thanks to you all!