Your Holiness,
In celebration of the World Day of Peace, Your Holiness issued the message "Fighting Poverty to Build Peace" on January 1, 2009. These meaningful words have been conveyed to me by our ambassador to the Holy See, Wang Yu-yuan. I was truly touched by Your Holiness's warm message, stressing that poverty can take many shapes and that the world needs to pay greater attention to non-material forms of poverty, such as marginalization, and moral and spiritual poverty. Your Holiness duly noted, "…every form of externally imposed poverty has at its root a lack of respect for the transcendent dignity of the human person. When man is not considered within the total context of his vocation, and when the demands of a true 'human ecology' are not respected, the cruel forces of poverty are unleashed, as is evident in certain specific areas that I shall now consider briefly one by one." Please accept, Your Holiness, my highest respect for your profound wisdom and insight.
As Your Holiness stressed, "Poverty is often a contributory factor or a compounding element in conflicts, including armed ones. In turn, these conflicts fuel further tragic situations of poverty." The world is fraught with conflict, military expansion, unequal distribution of food and wealth, and a vast financial crisis. I earnestly hope that world leaders will answer the call of Your Holiness, in that "fighting poverty requires attentive consideration of the complex phenomenon of globalization… Yet the reference to globalization should also alert us to the spiritual and moral implications of the question, urging us, in our dealings with the poor, to set out from the clear recognition that we all share in a single divine plan: we are called to form one family in which all -- individuals, peoples and nations -- model their behavior according to the principles of fraternity and responsibility." This message of Your Holiness inspires us to deeply reflect upon our own words and deeds.
In the world today, people have lost respect for life, the number of the impoverished grows by the day, life-threatening diseases cross all borders, and the Earth's limited resources rest in the hands of just a few powerful nations. These have enlarged the disparity between the rich and the poor, further threatening peace for all mankind. I hold Your Holiness in the highest esteem for your apt summarization of this crisis, "One of the most important ways of building peace is through a form of globalization directed towards the interests of the whole human family. In order to govern globalization, however, there needs to be a strong sense of global solidarity between rich and poor countries, as well as within individual countries, including affluent ones."
Like in the call of Your Holiness, I also stressed in my inaugural speech on May 20, 2008 that the Republic of China (Taiwan), while coping with the challenges from globalization, should be dedicated to helping the disadvantaged thrive and safeguarding their basic rights. With this in mind, Taiwan shares its experiences with other countries and hopes to play a greater role in the international community. The people of Taiwan are prepared to fulfill their duties to help promote free trade, prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, halt global warming, fight terrorism and render humanitarian support.
According to a classic text in Chinese culture, Doctrine of the Mean, "One cannot leave the Tao for an instant, thus what one can leave does not belong to the Tao." I deeply believe that the message of Your Holiness on the World Day of Peace reflects the Tao, the correct way, to resolving the ailments afflicting the world and to achieving world peace in the years to come.
I would like to extend my utmost appreciation to Your Holiness for your long-standing support and concern for the well-being of the people of Taiwan. It is my sincere hope that the ideal of Your Holiness to fight poverty and build peace can be realized in every corner of the world. The people and government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) fully support these goals and look forward to joining forces with the Vatican in pursuing them.
Please accept, Your Holiness, my highest respect, as well as my best wishes for your health and the prosperity of the Holy See.