Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

Today is the first day of the 101st year of the Republic of China. A couple of hours ago, the first light of dawn in the ROC’s second century broke over the peak of Mt. Jade. During the past few days, at the juncture of these two centuries, a clear vision has taken shape in my mind. It is as if I were standing atop a historic watershed. On one side is a slope representing the past century. On the other side is a slope representing the next century. The course of past events is clearly in view, while the basic logic of what lies ahead can be seen in broad outline.

Looking back at what has gone before, I see our forebears struggling mightily to bring about today’s Republic of China. Looking ahead, I can imagine ROC citizens 100 years from now scrutinizing what we in this era created for the country, what we introduced, what we solved, and what we bequeathed to it.

Everything we do today decides what will happen in the future.

As president of the Republic of China, I am keenly aware of how heavy a responsibility this is. Will the ROC citizens a century from now think of this generation the same way we think of Lin Hsien-tang (林獻堂), Chiang Wei-shui (蔣渭水), Hu Shih (胡適), Sun Yun-suan (孫運璿), and Li Kwoh-ting (李國鼎)? At the mention of our names, will they think to themselves, “How lucky that Taiwan had you!”?

So, how do we want the next generation to remember us?

In his book Education Should be Different, Stanley Yen (嚴長壽) wrote something that is very much worth quoting: “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire in each child’s mind, so that it shines its light.” The same is true of leading a country. The challenge for the president of a democratic country is not only to realize his own ideals, but also to enrich the options of the public, and to light candles in the minds of the next generation, so that they shine their light.

A century ago when the Republic of China had just been founded, the New Culture Movement championed by Hu Shih brought the force of reason to bear upon the direction of national development. Since then, freedom, democracy, science, and tolerance have comprised the guiding spirit of the past one hundred years.

During the Japanese colonial period, Lin Hsien-tang consulted with Liang Chi-chao (梁啟超) about what direction the Taiwan resistance movement against Japanese colonial rule should take. Lin subsequently followed the advice he received from Liang, and used the non-violent approach of launching the Petition Movement for the Establishment of a Taiwanese Representative Assembly, which was sustained for 14 continuous years.

In 1921, Lin and Chiang Wei-shui founded the Taiwan Culture Association to promote progressive ideas by publishing newspapers and magazines, promoting enlightened thought, educating the public, and dispelling superstition. Even after the Petition Movement concluded, the desire for a democratic representative assembly remained alive, and became the source and inspiration of the democracy movement after Taiwan was recovered from Japan.

During the 1950s, figures like Lee Wan-chu (李萬居), Wu San-lien (吳三連), and Kuo Yu-hsin (郭雨新) led the way by running for local elective office. Lei Chen (雷震) was imprisoned for 10 years after advocating that Taiwan should have opposition parties. During that period, they called for parliamentary reform; rescinding martial law; lifting the ban on establishing newspapers and magazines; as well as true freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly and association. Their ideals finally became reality in the 1990s.

In the 1960s, Yin Hai-kuang (殷海光) and Bo Yang (柏楊) never stopped writing even while imprisoned or kept under house arrest. And we will never forget Tao Pai-chuan (陶百川), who spoke truth to power and spent his whole life calling courageously for human rights and the rule of law. The saying goes, “Great ills are cured by literati,” and these men of letters proactively contributed to society and the nation.

In the academic community, National Taiwan University President Fu Ssu-nien (傅斯年) stood up in defense of academic freedom during a long and distinguished career dedicated entirely to the school. Taipei First Girls’ High School Principal Chiang Hsueh-chu (江學珠), who stressed a well-rounded education for her pupils, similarly showed singular devotion to her school, and is well remembered for her exemplary character. National Hsinchu Senior High School Principal Hsin Chih-ping (辛志平) lived simply all his life and, upon retiring, donated his lifelong savings to scholarships. He served as an exemplar of character to his students by the way he lived. Kaohsiung Municipal Senior High School Principal Wang Chia-chi (王家驥), who always arrived at school before any of the students, lived out his principles of unstinting self-reliance and improvement, being fact-driven and striving for excellence. Dr. Yang Ri-song (楊日松) dedicated his entire career to forensic medicine, using science to seek justice. Even late in life when he was seriously ill, he insisted on everyone staying at their post instead of coming to see him.

We must light candles of civilization in the minds of the next generation, just as Lai Ho (賴和), Yang Kui (楊逵), Chung Li-ho (鍾理和), Teng Yu-hsien (鄧雨賢), Lu Chuan-sheng (呂泉生), Chien Mu (錢穆), Lin Hwai-min (林懷民), and Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢) have brought the light of civilization to the minds of the people of Taiwan over the past century. Chung Li-ho’s writings chronicled the down-to-earth life of the brave people of this land. And at a time when the people of Taiwan were shell-shocked by the severing of diplomatic relations between the ROC and United States, the dance called Legacy, choreographed by Lin Hwai-min, inspired audiences to rediscover the courage of forebears of centuries past who risked their lives to leave mainland China and cross the sea to settle in Taiwan.

Hou Hsiao-hsien’s motion picture, A City of Sadness, spurred us to examine Taiwan’s past, look with fresh eyes upon our history, and emerge from the shadow of woe. Li Shuang-tze’s (李雙澤) song, Beautiful Island, is a virtual sound track for life on this land. When we were small, we sang the folk song Diu Diu Dong Ah bequeathed to Taiwan by Lu Chuan-sheng. As adults, our hearts have been warmed by such songs as If I Open the Door to My Heart (also by Lu Chuan-sheng) and Longing for the Spring Breeze (by Teng Yu-hsien). Now, our children grow up surrounded by innovative new music, in an atmosphere full of energy and creativity.

In addition to all that, compassion is yet another candle that we must light in the hearts of the next generation, in the same manner as Buddhist Master Sheng Yen (聖嚴) from northern Taiwan, Buddhist Master Cheng Yen (證嚴) from eastern Taiwan, Buddhist Master Hsing Yun (星雲) from southern Taiwan, the Christian missionary Dr. David Landsborough IV, and Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-hsi (單國璽). There is also Luo Chung-sheng (羅重盛), a physically disabled hero who has worked tirelessly to help the poor, and military veteran Hu Shou-hung (胡壽宏), who donated his life savings to charity. We must also draw inspiration from the long-term contributions to disaster relief and aid for the poor made by Dharma Drum Mountain, Chung Tai Chan Monastery, I Kuan Tao, and various Christian churches in Taiwan. Each in their own way has aroused an outpouring of compassion from the people of Taiwan.

During the final three years of our nation’s first century, the ROC, along with the rest of the world, suffered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the last century. And now we head shakily into a new century under the threat posed by the European debt crisis. Instead of downplaying it, I choose to be honest with the people: 2012 will be a difficult and critical year. We’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us. Four decades ago, as Taiwan’s economy was undergoing transformation, Sun Yun-suan and Li Kwoh-ting built a solid foundation on behalf of our generation. Today, as the global economy reconfigures following the outbreak of financial crisis, we must take a page out of their playbook and lay a solid foundation for the next generation.

Despite daunting challenges in the external environment, I have faith in the people of Taiwan and in our ability to adapt. I have faith in the strength of our economy and in the profound depth of our culture. During the past hundred years, we endured a long period of war and upheaval, and then worked hard to catch up in peaceful times. The industriousness of Taiwan’s people has earned admiration worldwide in such areas as research and development, art, culture, sports, design, innovation, and humanitarian assistance.

Over the recent years, our athletes, inventors, designers, artists, scientists, international volunteers, and even students from universities, high schools, and vocational colleges and schools have performed outstandingly on the world stage. Without realizing it, we have already transformed ourselves from learners to innovators; from trend followers to cultural trendsetters; from importers of compassion to exporters of it, and from all-out pursuers of efficiency, to adroit managers and innovators. The citizens of our country should feel pride and joy at the achievement of this transition and maturity. This is our best source of strength as we head into the ROC’s next century.

In the more than three years since I assumed office, national development and social justice have been foremost in my mind. All of my thoughts and aspirations have focused on the security and peace of this land, and the happiness and well-being of its people. Over these several years, my administration may have fallen short or moved too slowly in some areas. Where we have fallen short, we intend to redouble our efforts, so as to light candles in the minds of the next generation. Where we have moved too slowly, we shall pick up the pace. During the past century, our forebears laid a solid foundation for democracy in the Republic of China. As we look to the future, can we build a foundation for the peace, prosperity, harmony, and progress of the next generation?

The people of Taiwan in the next century have a right to look forward to an era of peace rather than war, of prosperity rather than recession, of harmony rather than conflict, and of progress rather than regression. We should strive to fulfill their expectations, so that at the next ROC centenary, they can celebrate and look back with the same festive mood we have today.

Straddling this watershed between two centuries inspires a keen awareness of just how miniscule and transient I am, and makes me all the more humble as I face the next century. Each of us, and each generation, is but a drop of water in the long river of history. We are all grateful descendants and humble students.

We must make sure that the candles of freedom, democracy, righteousness, civilization, and compassion from the past century of the Republic of China will continue to burn brightly in the minds of the next generation.

We are confident that when the next generation speaks of the marvel of Asia’s and mainland China’s rise, it will certainly also feel pride in the rise of Taiwan and the rise of the ROC. A century from now when ROC citizens think back on us, it will be wonderful if they can say, “How lucky that Taiwan had you!”

At this first dawn of the ROC’s 101st year, let me join the people of Taiwan all across this land in a pledge to work together and light the candles for the ROC’s next generation.

I wish you all a happy New Year!

Thank you.