Taipei, March 26 (CNA) Vice President Annette Lu urged women to play the role of peacemaker in the 21st century when she received guests attending an international women's forum in Taiwan Wednesday.
Lu said that she has often said that history is "his"tory, and not "her"story, and that history has shown that 99.9 percent of all wars were started by men.
She said that women have always been passive in history and that women are the ones that have to clean up the messes caused by others. She said that as others caused death, it was the women who are left to cry. "In the 21st century, women should not let others cry. They should be environmental experts, not street sweepers to clean up the problems created by others."
The vice president also spoke of the "miracles" of Taiwan: the economy, and the democratic ascension of President Chen Shui-bian and herself in the 2000 presidential election, which marked the first political transfer of power in Taiwan in more than five decades.
Lu also stressed the importance of the miracle of peace, saying that Taiwan has never started a war, nor is it capable of beginning one, although for more than half a century, it has had to face the military threat of a superpower across the Taiwan Strait.
In addition, she said that although Taiwan is excluded from many international events, it actively participates in humanitarian assistance and efforts for world peace. The international community should not ignore the existence of Taiwan, she said.