Minister Hsieh; Chairman Chen; Distinguished Academics and Experts:
Good afternoon to you all!
It is a great pleasure to meet my distinguished guests once again. First, on behalf of the government and people of Taiwan, I would like to extend my warmest welcome to you all. I hope that what you have experienced and observed of Taiwan's democracy--whether that be its strengths or weaknesses--has left an impression on you.
Taiwan's pursuit of democracy has been an arduous journey, and even greater challenges and trials still lie ahead of us. Nonetheless, the Taiwanese people's insistence on freedom, democracy, human rights, and justice has never wavered.
We believe that the difficulties met by democracies can only be overcome through deepening democracy. This is why we firmly advocate the right to referendum. Only by returning the right of self-determination to the people can we ensure that Taiwan will not slide backward on the path of democracy and safeguard our hard-won democratic achievements.
There have been three waves of democratization in modern history, with each wave encountering a different set of problems and complexities.
The first wave of democratization came to agrarian societies with the American and French revolutions. At that time, only the elite were involved in politics, and so many democratic problems were not solved until fifty or a hundred years later.
The second wave refers to the democratization of West Germany and Japan after World War II. The democratization of these two nations, however, was planned and closely monitored by other more mature democracies, a process that is unlikely to be repeated.
In the third wave--of which Taiwan is a part--democratization has been taking place in highly industrialized societies, where the media and technology ensure a rapid flow of information, and as a result of mass rallies and under a backdrop of various factors brought about by increasingly fierce global competition. Democracy activists, including myself, must deal with multiple problems in a very limited period of time. For example, in my two terms as president, I have been given just eight years to find ways to fundamentally address and solve problems caused by the previous authoritarian regime during its five decades in power. This is by no means an easy task. It could even be called a mission impossible, because we not only have to tackle as many problems as possible within the shortest period of time, but also have to produce as many positive results as possible in order to win our people's support for and trust in democracy.
Psalm 66 of the Bible says: "We went through fire and water, but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place." It is our belief that the democratization process experienced by Taiwan over the past three decades is a cross that God has intended us to bear, so as to test our perseverance and faith in freedom, democracy, human rights, and justice. I believe that Taiwan's 23 million people can pass such a trial.
Ten years ago, the Institute for National Policy Research in Taiwan and the National Endowment for Democracy in the United States jointly organized the "International Conference on Consolidating the Third-Wave Democracies: Trends and Challenges" to discuss democratic transitions. It is historically significant that, ten years on, the Taiwan Thinktank has once again brought together leading academics in democracy studies in an international conference to discuss the common challenges emerging democracies meet during the democratization process.
Taiwan is a young country, and so has much to learn from more mature democracies. Meanwhile, as a member of the community of new democracies, Taiwan is more than willing to share its developmental experiences with people worldwide.
It is a rare privilege for me to have this opportunity to meet with such internationally renowned academics as yourselves. I would like to listen to your comments and recommendations on how Taiwan can progress more smoothly and steadfastly on its democratic path. In closing, I would like to wish all of you health and happiness. Thank you.