President Greenlee of Junior Chamber International; Chairman Shin of JCI Asia Pacific Conference; President Hsu of JCI Taiwan; Chairwoman Chang of Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission; Interior Minister Lee; Taoyuan Magistrate Chu; JCI Members and Distinguished Guests from all over the World:
Good Evening!
I am very excited to have once again been invited to attend ASPAC. It feels good to be home.
I am a member of the Taipei Junior Chamber; my membership number is 1228. It brings great warmth to my heart to see my brothers and sisters from the big JCI family gathering here today.
As seven years have passed since JCI Taiwan last hosted ASPAC, I would like to extend my most heartfelt welcome to our excellent partners from Junior Chambers across the world. Welcome to Formosa, our beautiful island. I believe that this year's ASPAC in Taiwan will definitely also be an impressive and memorable one.
After I was sworn in as president on May 20, 2000, the first international conference that I attended in the presidential capacity was the ASPAC in Kaohsiung's Sizihwan on May 27th of that year. Over the past seven years, JCI Taiwan members and I have deepened our friendship and often encourage each other. As I meet with you in this significant annual JCI event today, I would like to, on behalf of all JCI Taiwan members, express our appreciation for all of the JCI members' support and approval.
The logo of this year's ASPAC is the Hakka lion, a symbol of Taiwan's traditional culture. It symbolizes the Hakka people's spirit and wisdom as demonstrated through their diligence, honesty, solidarity, and mutual assistance under difficult life circumstances. This logo is also a welcoming gesture to the business professionals and young leaders who have traveled from all over the world to attend this conference. We hope that this international conference will deepen Taiwan's participation in the world community and bring Taiwan into the international spotlight.
JCI ASPAC has 45 member states. As the sixth largest member state, Taiwan has made remarkable contributions to JCI. However, as China has recently continued its diplomatic suppression of Taiwan and is planning to join JCI in 2008, JCI Taiwan's room for development in the international arena may consequently be restricted.
In 2005, we won the bid to host this 13th ASPAC under the name "Chungli, Taoyuan" after refusing to accept the name "JCI Taiwan (China)," making Chungli Junior Chamber the first non-capital JCI branch to win a bid to host ASPAC. This diplomatic victory is vivid evidence of JCI Taiwan's commitment and hard work, and is the pride of all JCI members worldwide.
China will not cease its suppression of Taiwan in the international community, but Taiwan will not cease safeguarding its own sovereignty, either. Despite the fact that the World Health Organization has rejected Taiwan's participation for many years, and although the World Organization for Animal Health, known as OIE, recently downgraded Taiwan's participation status from a sovereign state member to a non-sovereign regional member, we will do our best to strive for the collective human rights of the 23 million citizens of Taiwan, as long as Taiwan exists. Similarly, we will also do everything we can to safeguard Taiwan's membership and rights in JCI so that we may continue to fulfill our responsibility to participate in international affairs.
JCI Taiwan is a highly commended international youth society. We are gratified with and proud of its accomplishments and performance in self-training, serving different ethnic groups, and community service. Under the outstanding leadership of JCI Taiwan President Hsu, JCI Taiwan has been proactively living out its theme this year, which is "JC Power, Taiwan Future." In addition, JCI Taiwan has also been pursuing JCI President Greenlee's goals of leadership and service, in the hope of extending JCI's service to every place in the world and setting a good example for all Junior Chambers.
It is my hope that by holding fast to its belief in the JCI Creed that "the brotherhood of man transcends the sovereignty of nations" and that "service to humanity is the best work of life," JCI Taiwan will continue to do its best in running this organization, providing community service, and conducting international exchange and cooperation.
In closing, I would like to wish ASPAC great success, JCI continued growth, and all of you health and happiness. Thank you.