I would like to begin by wishing the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting a great success. This important meeting, held in Sydney, Australia will commence tomorrow. Leaders from 21 economies in the Asia-Pacific region will work together to further economic growth and ensure sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region.
As the democratically elected President of Taiwan, I have the responsibility and obligation to lead our 23 million people to actively participate in international affairs, fulfilling our duties and obligations as global citizens. We vigorously involve ourselves in APEC meetings. We are also willing and able to make greater contributions to the world community.
Taiwan fully supports the theme of this year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting: "Strengthening Our Community, Building a Sustainable Future," as it rightly embraces and reflects the global trend. We also support the two new initiatives proposed by the host economy, Australia: "the Global Initiative on Forests and Climate," and "the Asia-Pacific Network for Energy Technology or APNet." These two initiatives, we believe, will provide a more comprehensive and fundamental solution to sustainability of development and the environment. Of course, their realization requires concerted efforts of APEC member economies.
In the past, Taiwan had proposed several initiatives, including strengthening the R&D and production of vaccines for infectious diseases, and APEC Digital Opportunity Center (ADOC) [to abridge digital divide]. Both initiatives had been well received and duly recognized. As part of the ADOC project, digital centers have been set up in seven member economies including Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Thailand, Peru and Chile.
This year, Taiwan will introduce the "Green APEC Opportunity Initiative." It is fully in line with this year's theme, and is complementary to the two initiatives proposed by Australia. It is Taiwan's aspiration to not just being "Formosa"--a beautiful island, but also a green silicon island. The emphasis is on being green, as we have learned from our experience that without green development, Taiwan will not sustain itself as the leading high-tech island. The same lesson also applies to other economies. Therefore, I believe our new initiative will receive endorsement and support from all participating leaders.
I admire the great wisdom and insight of Prime Minister John Howard of Australia, who has raised major global issues of climate change, energy security, and clean development in this year's Economic Leaders' Meeting. Climate change has lead to rising sea level, imbalance in ecological system, biodiversity decrease, and depletion of marine resources. If these problems were left unattended, sustainable development as a whole would not be possible.
The economic activities of all APEC member economies account for 60% of the world economy, while the total trade volume accounts for 50% of world trade, and population accounts for 40% of the world population. More importantly, the energy consumption of APEC member economies reaches up to 60% of the global total. If we allow the current trend to go on, this figure will be doubled in 20 years and global ecological environment will face severe challenge.
All member economies are confronted with the same challenge. Thus, collaborative efforts and cooperative programs are required to tackle these pressing issues. Let us work together to create more economic prosperity while ensuring sustainability of development and the environment. I wish the meeting every success and everyone good health and happiness. Thank you! [END]