President Chen Shui-bian on October 23 met with a delegation of visitors from the Newspaper Association of America at the Presidential Office. The president, on behalf of the government and the 23 million people of Taiwan, welcomed the visitors and expressed his gratitude for the association's staunch support for Taiwan and for the work and contributions it has made in promoting friendship between the two countries and boosting substantive ties.
President Chen said the Newspaper Association of America has long focused its attention on and provided assistance to Taiwan in its pursuit of freedom, democracy and economic development. The president added that previously, Taiwan experienced the longest period of martial law in the world, lasting 38 years. Fortunately, he said, many fighters for democracy here were willing to sacrifice their lives, freedom and time with their families in the pursuit of freedom, democracy and human rights. These people helped Taiwan to achieve the precious democracy it enjoys today. Taiwan held its first direct presidential election in 1996, and the results of the 2000 presidential election marked the first alternation in the ruling party here as well as a peaceful transfer of power. These developments have helped to further guarantee the political rights and civil liberty of the 23 million people of Taiwan.
President Chen cited rankings released by the Washington D.C.-based Freedom House showing that Taiwan received a perfect score in the areas of freedom of religion and belief. He added that Taiwan's rankings in terms of political rights and civil liberties placed it in the category of a "free nation," the same as that of the United States and European nations. The president also referred to the recently released 2007 annual press freedom survey by France's Reporters Without Borders that ranked Taiwan in 32nd place, which was a rise of 11 slots from last year. This is not only the highest ranking of anywhere in Asia, but surpasses the rankings of the United States and Japan. Taiwan's ranking was on par with that of European countries that are the most advanced in terms of press freedom. The president said that Taiwan is extremely proud of these achievements, which are all the more impressive given that it had been under martial law for 38 years.
The president also expressed his appreciation to the National Association of America for giving attention in op-ed articles and columns to Taiwan's efforts to enter the United Nations (UN) under the name "Taiwan." The president said he is confident that the referendum to enter the UN that will be held in the future as well as the 11-day torch relay throughout Taiwan will attract the attention of the international media to the voices and desire of the Taiwan public to participate in the international community. In addition, a public opinion poll carried out by the US firm ZOGBY International showed that 55% of the American public supports Taiwan to become a member of the UN. If Taiwan's referendum that will be held in March on applying for UN entry passes, support among the American public will rise by another 15 percentage points to 70%. The president said that presently 1.435 million people here have signed a petition to hold a referendum with the question being whether Taiwan should apply for UN entry using the name "Taiwan." The number of signatures is expected to reach the goal of two million by the end of this month. The president believes this will set a record on Taiwan and is even a number rarely seen in other countries. Taiwan voters in March will be able to cast their vote on the referendum at the same time they vote for a new president. President Chen said he is confident that the referendum will pass.