President Chen Shui-bian on the afternoon of February 22 met with foreign guests attending "International Forum: Human Rights in China and 2008 Olympics." Meeting at the Presidential Office, President Chen extended the visitors a warm welcome to Taiwan.
President Chen said just like China, Taiwan is an ethnic Chinese society. While the people of Taiwan can enjoy freedom, democracy and human rights, the 1.3 billion people of China, however, have been deprived of their most basic rights. Taiwan's experience in the development of democracy is without a doubt the best hope and model for the people of China, he said. The president said the government and people of Taiwan are willing to do their utmost to foster China's democratization. Only if China transforms into a truly democratic nation will there be hope for sustainable peace in the region. In addition, this would lay the groundwork for a genuine solution to the relationship between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and make world peace a real possibility, he said.
President Chen said he hopes that the Chinese government does not use the staging of the Olympic Games as a reason to purge and arrest dissidents. Rather, he urged the Beijing government to take advantage of the Olympics as an opportunity to truly improve human rights and realize the Olympic spirit of peace, equality and harmony. Only if China conforms with world trends and both respects and guarantees the rights and dignity of its people will it be looked upon as a responsible, mature, and respected great nation, President Chen said.
Kosovo declared its independence on February 17th and in the days since many nations have recognized its independence. Taiwan formally recognized Kososo on February 19, the president said. As of Friday morning, 22 member countries of the United Nations (UN), which has 192 members, have recognized Kosovo's independence.
Since Taiwan is not a member nation of the UN, the people of Kosovo can't directly thank Taiwan for the move made by Taiwan to recognize it. President Chen said that Taiwan can understand its predicament. He said that Taiwan is grateful to the people of Kosovo and that we admire their pursuit of democracy, self-determination and the courage to set their own course. The president said that Taiwan wishes the people of Kosovo the best.
President Chen added that Kosovo faces a long road ahead of it should it seek to become a member of the UN. The reality remains, however, that Kosovo is a sovereign nation, no matter how long it takes for it to achieve entry into the world body. He said this is the same situation faced by Taiwan. Even though it is not a member of the UN, this does not diminish the fact that Taiwan is a sovereign nation, he said.
Among the foreign guests attending the "International Forum: Human Rights in China and 2008 Olympics" are David Kilgour from Canada, former Member of the Canadian Parliament, Australian Senator Andrew Bartlett, Canadian Members of Parliament, Mario Silva and Robert Anders, Hong Kong Legislative Council Member Leung Kwok-hung, Seweryn Ozdowski, former Commissioner of the Australian Commonwealth of Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, and International Society for Human Rights Executive Director Man-yan Ng. The group was accompanied by Human Rights Law Foundation Asia Director Theresa Chu in the afternoon to the Presidential Office to meet with President Chen. Also attending the meeting was Deputy Secretary-General to the President Lin Chia-lung.