Good Evening!
It is an honor to have been invited to this evening's Spring Festival party and to have the opportunity to celebrate the Lunar New Year with ambassadors and foreign representatives based in Taiwan. On behalf of the government and people of the Republic of China (Taiwan), I would like to wish each of your nations and their peoples the greatest of prosperity and happiness. I would also like to wish each of you here tonight success in all your endeavors, and peace and joy to your families in the coming year.
In Taiwan, the Lunar New Year is a time for family reunion and catching up with old friends. On New Year's Eve, people return to their parents' homes for a family dinner, after which older family members present younger members with gifts of money in red envelopes and wish them peace and success for the coming year. On New Year's Day itself, people visit relatives and friends, with whom they exchange gifts and good wishes. I was very lucky to have two new grandchildren last year, and so this year had two extra red envelopes to prepare!
This year's Lunar New Year vacation lasted nine days and celebrations will continue until March 15. Chiayi County was chosen to host this year's Taiwan Lantern Festival. In addition to arranging the traditional lion and dragon dances and folk music performances, organizers also invited some well-known Japanese dance troupes to perform at the festival. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to dedicate efforts throughout 2007 to the promotion of cultural and tourism exchanges between Taiwan and Japan, and so the participation of Japanese performers in the festival helped add momentum to this program.
There were also large-scale lantern festivals in many other cities, such as Taipei, Kaohsiung, and Hsinchu. The Sky Lantern Festival in Taipei County's Pingsi Township was one of the highlights in this series of celebrations. The sky lanterns are miniature, paper hot air balloons on which people write down their wishes before setting them off. As usual, Tainan's Yanshuei Township celebrated the Lantern Festival by setting off copious amounts of beehive firecrackers. This year, in an attempt to break a Guinness world record, event organizers also set off a 13-kilometer-long string of firecrackers. Dubbed the "Legend of the Fire Dragon," the firecrackers took one and a half hours to finish exploding and created a truly jubilant and colorful atmosphere for this year's Lunar New Year celebrations.
In 2006, Taiwan made significant progress in many areas. For example, the opening of the Taipei-Ilan Freeway, Hsuehshan Tunnel, and High Speed Rail, along with the introduction of new, faster models of trains to railway lines in the east, are set to bring about a spatial revolution in Taiwan. Shortened travel times will make it even easier to appreciate the cultural diversity of Taiwan's people and the vibrant life force that this endows us.
On the other hand, however, there was also much political turmoil in Taiwan in the past year. Last September, the so-called "Red-shirt Army" staged around-the-clock demonstrations on Kedagalan Boulevard in front of the Office of the President; they also caused disturbances at the Double Tenth National Day ceremony while attempting to carry out what they referred to as a "Universal Siege." Still, these events, I am sure, will have allowed you all to observe for yourselves how the people of Taiwan uphold their faith in freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. When Taiwan was under authoritarian rule, the freedoms of assembly, press, speech, and publication were all severely limited and suppressed. We must remember well the lessons of history, so as to avoid ever repeating past mistakes. This is why we are completely dedicated to protecting these fundamental freedoms and human rights. This is why we were tolerant with demonstrators even when they threatened to damage social tranquility and order.
Our efforts and persistence in this aspect have been reflected in numerous international reports assessing the levels of freedom in different countries. For example, the US-based organization Freedom House rated Taiwan as one of the freest countries in the world in terms of political rights and civil liberties, and gave Taiwan full scores for the freedoms of speech and religion. Likewise, in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006 issued by Reporters Without Borders, Taiwan's ranking rose to number 43 from number 51 the previous year, placing it first in Asia in terms of press freedom. It was also the first time that Taiwan outpaced Japan and the United States in the survey. We feel extremely gratified with these results, which consolidate our determination to safeguard fundamental freedoms and human rights.
Of course, we must not become conceited as a result of these surveys, for there is still much room for further work and improvement. The 2006 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices published by the US State Department on Tuesday highlighted that improvements are urgently needed in four areas in Taiwan: corruption by officials, violence and discrimination against women, trafficking in persons, and abuses of foreign workers. We must take such criticism and direction from other countries with a humble heart. We must set ourselves higher standards and work harder to ask more from ourselves and stay alert. We must take concrete actions to fulfill our pledge to build our nation upon the principles of human rights.
There is a saying that goes, "Those who respect others will be respected; those who insult others will be insulted." The media-consuming public has a responsibility to help safeguard freedom of the press, but the press itself also needs to be committed to adhering to a professional standard of conduct. Vice President Lu registered for the Democratic Progressive Party's presidential primary a few days ago. On covering this event, two renowned international media outlets quoted in their reports some Chinese academics' biased and untruthful comments concerning the vice president. These media outlets described this event in an irresponsible manner, even resorting to using crude and offensive language in their headlines. This was a very regrettable thing. I do not believe that any professional media outlet would quote Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's attacks on or criticism of US President George W. Bush as its headlines in a story related to the latter. It is unfortunate that Vice President Lu was subjected to such unbelievable treatment, and we must speak out for her because of it.
Press freedom and ethical standards for the press are universal values, and should be respected and upheld in all circumstances, irrespective of the subject matter being reported on. There should be no double standards. The relevant members of the media community have expressed to Vice President Lu their desire to remedy the situation and duly issued a more balanced news report. We certainly hope to see a prompt and satisfactory ending to this unpleasant episode. This has been a learning experience for both international and local media. The international media has once again been presented with how pressing and legitimate it is for Taiwan to be independent and to rectify its name. Taiwan and the People's Republic of China are two sovereign countries, with neither exercising jurisdiction over the other. Taiwan is Taiwan, and China is China. If one chooses to look at Taiwan's affairs through a biased Chinese lens, one can easily end up distorting or misreporting such things.
For Taiwan's media, this episode serves as a reminder that once faulty reporting or mistakes are discovered, it is important to have the courage to acknowledge the mishap, take responsibility, apologize, and issue a correction. If the press does not take its ethics and professionalism seriously, then neither will its audience take its reports seriously. I would like to urge my fellow citizens--irrespective of whether you work for the government or for the press or are simply members of the media-consuming public, to cherish and protect our hard-won press freedom. I also hope that we may all work together to push for the better and healthier development of Taiwan's media, and to strengthen our respect for and protection of human rights, so that freedom, truth, and justice may prevail in our society.
Esteemed ambassadors and representatives: you are the best bridges between your countries and Taiwan. I would like to once again express my appreciation for your work in enhancing relations between our countries and for your assistance and support in helping realize Taiwan's participation in international organizations. I hope that you will continue to act as friendship ambassadors to Taiwan by sharing your experiences in Taiwan, and of its culture and natural beauty, with those in your home countries.
Today is March 8--International Women's Day. I would like to invite you all to join me in a toast to extend our best wishes to all women on this day. Also let us toast to happiness and success in this coming year. To the prosperity and peace in all our countries! Thank you! Happy New Year!