Tolerance and Conciliation Are the Core Values of Democracy —
Remembering the Spirit of Lincoln on the 200th Anniversary of His Birth
Good evening and Happy New Year!
It's a great honor for me to be here tonight with such a distinguished group of participants. I would like to thank the Lincoln Society for hosting this dinner to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln, who was born on February 12, 1809. Thanks also are due to the American Institute in Taiwan and the American Chamber of Commerce for their help in organizing tonight's activities. I can't tell you how happy I am here to share a few thoughts with the fine people here about the enduring wisdom of an outstanding statesman.
President Lincoln is a giant in the history of democracy, and we stand on his shoulders this evening as we ponder what mankind needs to do to live together in peace, and how we are to work together for our common prosperity. I am humbled to take part in this undertaking.
1. The significance of proclaiming 2009 "Lincoln Year"
Americans throughout the world have been celebrating 2009 as Lincoln Year. We take part in that celebration of the Lincoln legacy here tonight half a world away in Taipei. I sincerely believe this is a significant event.
Just last month, we saw President Obama take the oath of office with the same bible once used by President Lincoln. All of this was highly symbolic, and underscored the tremendously important role played by President Lincoln in the development of American democracy.
For over a century, the American people have felt a special affection for President Lincoln. Perhaps it is because of his humble beginnings. He was a man of heartfelt emotions, an upstanding fellow who knew the difference between right and wrong. He did not conform to all our notion of the typical politician, who we tend to think of as cold, calculating, and power-hungry.
On November 19th, 1863, to commemorate the many soldiers who died four and a half months earlier in a tremendous battle at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, President Lincoln delivered a short speech and put forward for the first time the important concept that government should be "of the people, by the people, and for the people." The entire address was only 272 words long, but is remembered as one of the greatest speeches in American history.
In fact, the concept of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has had its influence across the Pacific Ocean and found its way into our Constitution. Article 1 of the 1946 Constitution of the Republic of China says the Republic of China is a democratic republic of the people, by the people, and for the people based on the three principles of the people. This is why we are all admirers of President Lincoln.
Many Lincoln scholars describe Lincoln as a melancholy person, and suggest that perhaps his family background and the war clouds of his day prompted an especially deep concern for the slaves and the many soldiers killed and wounded in the civil war. What is certain is that President Lincoln was a leader with an immense moral commitment, a strong sense of mission, and an iron will to act on his beliefs. No president in American history can match his compassion for the less privileged members of society.
2. Learning tolerance through conflict, and co-existence through conciliation
There's an ancient Chinese saying about the importance of freedom: "Better to die calling out than live in silence." （寧鳴而死，不默而生）It comes from a poem by Fan Zhongyan（范仲淹）, a high-ranking government official and general during the Song dynasty. In the poem, a crow chooses to call out and die rather than hold fearfully onto life by staying silent. The spirit of the crow calls to mind the American revolutionary Patrick Henry, who in 1775 said, "Give me liberty, or give me death." You find striking similarities between the concept of these two statesmen who were 740 years apart.
In the feudal society of ancient China, speaking unpleasant truths to the emperor or a despot could get a person killed. Under those conditions, the courage to "call out and die" was all the more remarkable.
In 1959, one of the greatest libertarians Hu Shih wrote an essay entitled "Tolerance and Freedom," and I quote, "Sometimes I even feel that tolerance is the foundation of all freedom, and that without tolerance there can be no freedom." End quote.
These two ideas of Dr. Hu Shih — that tolerance is the foundation of all freedom, and that without tolerance there can be no freedom — are deeply instructive and moving to those of us in our generation, myself included. We are a generation that has made a big transition from authoritarianism to democracy, and from a closed society to an open society.
As a young democracy, we enjoy an atmosphere of freedom that is unfettered by political restraints. Social groups and political parties with different political stances can compete in a single arena under uniform rules of engagement to decide who is to be in charge of our society. In less than a decade, Taiwan has been through two peaceful transitions of power. This shows that the people of Taiwan have to some degree come to understand the need to "learn tolerance through conflict, and co-existence through conciliation." Tolerance and conciliation are important if we are to resolve conflict and overcome differences of opinion. This principle, the principle of tolerance and conciliation, is applicable not only to cross-strait relations but also to inter-political party relations in Taiwan today.
Those in high positions tend to think of themselves as irreplaceable, and are prone to forget that "all men are born equal." Governments exist above all to provide an environment where all persons can engage in the pursuit of happiness. If a government is to remain vital, it must be truly "of the people, by the people, and for the people." I believe this is the true meaning of "power" in a democratic system.
3. Building a national identity through tolerance and conciliation
When President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address in 1863, black people in America were not quite real "people," because they were defined by law as less than a full person, had no rights as citizens, and were barred from seeking public office. And when Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in August of 1963, blacks were still prohibited from sitting in whites-only seats on public buses.
Exactly one century elapsed between Lincoln's Gettysburg address and King's "I Have a Dream" speech, then it was another 46 years to the inauguration of the first African American President Obama. African Americans have come a long way in just 150 years.
In his inaugural address, President Obama said, "We understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned." This statement is an important commentary on the tremendous struggles that have taken place in America over the past century. It also stands as testimony to the history of a great nation.
I believe that newly established democracies like the Republic of China on Taiwan can learn extremely valuable lessons from America's arduous defense of freedom and democracy amidst division and strife. America's experience in the building of a democratic state tells us one thing -- we must seek consensus in a spirit of tolerance and conciliation. In a democratic, pluralistic society, conflict and disagreement may be inevitable, but dwelling on conflict and playing up our disagreements is absolutely not the way to establish a national identity. In this connection, I also want to let you know that the Republic of China government recently is trying and taking vigorous steps to ratify two important international conventions on the perception of human rights — the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. We want to get them ratified this year. The idea is that we want to enhance the human rights protection in Taiwan in line with the standards of the international community and with other 160 odd countries of the world. And I believe by doing that we are also pursuing the ideas of freedom of democracy as President Lincoln made out for us 200 years ago.
Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we gather together to share in the Lincoln Legacy without distinctions among us based on ethnicity, nationality, or gender. I firmly believe that mankind will one day show through its actions that "tolerance and conciliation are not just the building blocks of an effective democratic society, but are in fact the only guarantee of the sustainable survival of the human race."
In closing, I would like to wish our distinguished guests a happy new year of the Ox, and all the best of happiness and good health! I hope that each and every one of you will make important new achievements in the coming year.
Thank you, everyone!