Taipei, Nov. 9 (CNA) Vice President Annette Lu presided over a preparatory meeting Saturday for the inauguration of a Pacific Democratic Alliance.
Participants, which included representatives from the academic and industry fields, as well as several organizations, reached a consensus to hold a pre-conference meeting of the alliance next month before the first official conference, scheduled for next March.
Lu said that the aim of the alliance is to uphold the ideals of democracy, human rights, peace and high technology, unite Pacific rim democratic countries to build a regional alliance and promote what she described as "the common values of democratic politics, sustainable development and a new civilization."
Lu noted that the Pacific Ocean is the deepest and largest ocean in the world, covering more than one-third of the planet. Pacific countries also possess half of the world's economic might.
She said that although Taiwan is small, its location at the midpoint between Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia and the passage of nearly 400 international vessels through its waters every day, it should be called an "ocean state," not an "island state."
She pointed out that whether in the meetings of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum or the Association for Southeast Asian Nations, mainland China has done everything possible to try to exclude and marginalize Taiwan. "This is why we have to create our own way and not confine ourselves to the Asia-Pacific region, but expand our horizons to the Pacific rim countries, " and with the common values of "democracy, ocean and sustainable development" to unite these Pacific rim countries, she said.
She noted that the European Union is comprised of 15 democratic and industrialized countries and will become one of the most powerful political and economic integrated bodies. In contrast, she went on, 15 out of the 39 countries in Asia still have not chosen democracy, while four of the five communist regimes remaining in the world are in Asia.
The alliance aims to promote non-democratic countries in Asia to pursue democratization one day, she said.
She also said that humans have in the past overdeveloped and depleted their land resources. To avoid repeating the same mistakes, it is necessary for Pacific rim countries to establish cooperation mechanism to integrate resources and information, she said.
Lu said that with Taiwan's diplomatic situation, it is difficult for the government to lead the movement, so it will start with non-government organizations in the hope of getting support from such Pacific countries as Japan, South Korea, the United States, Canada and Australia.