Chairman of the ICDF, Timothy Yang (楊進添);
Former President of the World Bank, Mr. Robert Zoellick;
Distinguished ambassadors and representatives;
Ladies and gentlemen:
Good morning!
It's really my honor to attend this conference—the International Conference on Development Cooperation and the Taiwan Experience.
Ever since I became president of this country, I have always wanted my country to play five roles in the international arena. Number one, I want my country to become a peacemaker; number two, a provider of international humanitarian aid; number three, a promoter of international cultural exchange; number four, a creator of new technologies and business opportunities; and number five, a standard-bearer of Chinese culture.
Ladies and gentlemen, you probably do not know that Taiwan used to be a recipient of international development aid. Beginning in 1950, we started to receive economic aid from the United States, for 15 years. By using this aid, we were able to build up our infrastructure—reservoirs, railways, and other things. And we were also able to set up our import substitution industries, which gradually transformed into export expansion.
By 1965—15 years after we started to receive aid—the aid was cut off. The reason given by the United States was: "Sorry, you have graduated." Yes, we did. We graduated. And actually, ever since then, we have been setting up agricultural missions abroad to help our friends, primarily in Africa.
So we have been doing this for over 50 years. With a mass of experiences, we understand that developmental aid is vital to a country's development. That is why we have tried our best to make this program successful. We now share our successes with dozens of countries via hundreds of projects, including agricultural technical support, vocational training, medical help, and most recently, the high-technology area.
Two years ago, people in Africa found that school children in some of our allied nations used the streetlights to study because there was insufficient supply of electricity in the countryside and some of the urban areas. So they used that opportunity to develop what we call now a "lamp from Taiwan"—a solar energy lamp with LED bulbs which can last for four to eight hours, and is rechargeable.
We first used the lamps in Burkina Faso, and they were a resounding success. When I first visited Burkina Faso last April, I saw school children using the lamps to do their homework, and I asked the teachers of the school about it. The teachers said their performance became better because they studied in the evening. That was a very rewarding experience. In the Pacific islands, we also want to use the lamps to hopefully make our allies "low-carbon islands."
For instance, in Tuvalu, we started that program hoping to substitute the import of diesel oil for power generation. So all these programs not only correspond with the needs of our friends, but also use our own industrial potential. This is the perfect match. We will continue to do that.
But to make the programs successful, I already made it very clear four years ago that the purpose must be legitimate, the process must be lawful, and the implementation must be effective. This is vitally important for Taiwan to make its developmental assistance successful in the developing world. As you know, in the past, we engaged in a diplomatic contest with mainland China, using a lot of resources in an actually unnecessary way.
So ever since I took office four years ago, I have pursued a policy of viable diplomacy. First of all, I've tried to improve relations with the Chinese mainland. So far we have concluded 18 agreements covering a wide range of issues, including direct transportation via air and sea, medical cooperation, joint efforts to combat crime, judicial mutual assistance, financial supervisory cooperation, a settlement arrangement for our currency, nuclear cooperation, and most importantly, the signing of the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, which actually has helped us open up doors with other countries in the region. We now are negotiating an economic partnership agreement with Singapore and an economic cooperation agreement with New Zealand. We've also concluded an investment protection and promotion agreement with Japan. Japan has invested in Taiwan for over 60 years, but never before had Japan thought about signing such an agreement with Taiwan. Without the existence of ECFA, this would not have been possible.
So, by opening up to the mainland, we have effectively removed some of the obstacles we encountered in our international relations. And that also helps our international aid, because we can use more resources not in the unnecessary fight with the mainland, but rather for the assistance of many people in the developing world. That is a target of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals—to eradicate poverty, address the shortage of education, and carry out environmental protection.
So, ladies and gentlemen, this is a very important conference which shows you how the Republic of China has been trying its best to play the role of a provider of international humanitarian aid. I'm sure you remember that two years ago, when our ally Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake, more than 200,000 people perished, and many houses were damaged or destroyed.
A rescue team from Taiwan went to the disaster area, and was one of the first to get there. The day after our team arrived, I called them up, and the voice from the other side of the telephone line was really thrilled. He said, "Mr. President, 15 minutes ago, we just got a survivor out of the debris." I was also thrilled. This was the first time for a Taiwan rescue team sent abroad to rescue a person alive, because in the past, for diplomatic reasons, we were unable to reach the site in time to do our job.
Today, we still have people in Haiti. We have already built 200 units of housing for the people. We continue our program of vocational training and public health personnel training. Ladies and gentlemen, this is what our humanitarian aid is all about.
Also, we donated to Japan after its earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear incident in March 2011, because Japan had helped us before, after Typhoon Morakot in 2009 and after the earthquake that took place 13 years ago this month. So, we repaid our debt of friendship to our Japanese friends. I think by doing that we also made our relations with Japan the best they have been in almost 40 years.
Ladies and gentlemen, international development aid is vitally important to any country. The Republic of China will continue to act, as I said, as a provider of this kind of help, although we, at the moment, are also hit by the economic downturn. But we will try our best to keep the budget intact. I have to admit, this is not an easy job.
But in any case, I want to assure you we will continue to help our friends because their situation might be worse than ours. This is something we have to recognize.
Through today's conference, I want you to understand we are committed to developmental assistance. We have lost our UN representation, so we are not able to participate in UN programs, but we will continue to do things that are compatible with the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Republic of China will continue to be a developmental partner of your country, and will continue to play a role. I thank you very, very much for cooperating with those programs, making those programs a success, and helping thousands and thousands of people who might not have been able to get aid otherwise. Thank you very much for attending the conference. I wish the conference a resounding success.