Taipei, Oct. 16 (CNA) The following is the full text of President Chen Shui-bian's speech delivered Wednesday at the International Symposium on Huamn Rights.
Professor Chen Jung-chu, President of the Taiwan New Century Foundation; RDEC Chairman Lin; honored guests; ladies and gentlemen:
Good morning and hello to everyone!
I am honored to have been invited to this International Symposium on Human Rights today. Since the United Nations passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, great progress has been made in the international human rights regime. With the establishment of various human rights mechanism at regional and national levels, and by nongovernmental organizations, an era of universally accepted doctrines of human rights has begun to take shape. We understand very clearly that the admirable accomplishments we witness today are the result of hard struggle over many months and years--on global, regional, and national levels, and in the various fields of human rights--carried out by countless workers who embraced the spirit of a 'global civil society'. Taiwan, throughout its history of struggle for human rights, has been a beneficiary of developments in the aftermath of this struggle. With this in mind, it is my great pleasure to most sincerely welcome our distinguished guests from all over the world, and express my highest admiration and respect for all the human rights workers here, and all those who could not make it today.
When the Republic of China was still a member of the United Nations, we signed or ratified more than twenty treaties on human rights, including the 'International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' and the 'International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights'. Unfortunately, the Republic of China was forced out of the United Nations in 1971, and at the same time was also forced to leave the international human rights regime; under such circumstances, we have since lost touch with the regime, and have been denied the opportunity to participate, learn, and be stimulated by comparisons with international society. As a result, this has produced serious insufficiencies in the necessary foundations for various human rights initiatives - for example, knowledge, information, research and education on human rights is weak; and necessary human rights legislation, and a national organization responsible for human rights affairs are also missing. Furthermore, because Taiwan was formerly under authoritarian rule for a long period of time, consciousness and knowledge of human rights could not take root and grow.
In order to rebuild our system of constitutional democracy, and institutionalize the values of human rights so that they become embedded in the politics, society and culture of our lives, in my inaugural address on May 5, 2000, I announced the idea of a nation founded on human rights, and suggested several human rights policies, with the main aim of reestablishing links with international developments in human rights. We strongly believe that only by having the universal outlook to recognize the concepts and realities of international human rights, can we fundamentally implement human rights.
Over two years later, we have produced some preliminary results in human rights development. For example, in terms of building a cornerstone for human rights, the Presidential Office has established the 'Human Rights Advisory Group', and Ministries of the Executive Yuan have already submitted a draft of 'The National Human Rights Commission Institutional Law' to the Legislative Yuan; the Executive Yuan has also resubmitted the 'International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights' and the 'International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' to the Legislative Yuan for approval; and we are currently drawing up 'Basic Human Rights Law' to assist the incorporation of important international treaties on human rights into domestic law. We have combined the power of government and non-government institutions to draft a 'Human Rights Policy White Paper' of the Republic of China; furthermore, in March of next year the first 'National Human Rights Report' in Taiwan will be released; and the National Human Rights Museum will be also be opened next year on International Human Rights Day. Apart from serving the functions of a memorial, the Museum will also be responsible for civic education in human rights, democracy, and constitutional governance.
In the future, we will adopt the common principles of the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Program of Action and the 1997 Bangkok conference announcement to design a 'National Human Rights Action Plan'; and legitimately plan the process, primary development strategy, and focus of the implementation of human rights standards.
Apart from laying the foundations of human rights in terms of concrete implementation, the first phase has some other key goals: to formulate a complete system of constitutional democracy, so that orderly constitutional governance can be rebuilt in Taiwan; to speed judicial reform and phase out the death penalty; to continue implementation of economic and social human rights, especially in assessment of relevant labor laws and improvement of labor rights; to achieve sexual equality and eliminate discrimination based on gender or gender identity; and to promote autonomy of indigenous people in order to guarantee their collective rights. We believe that through building the foundations of human rights and other relevant practical policies, we will be able to more effectively implement human rights on firmer ground, and will also work towards our goal to make international connections.
The process of development of the world human rights system has been a history of gradual deepening and expanding over decades. We fully understand that the road ahead is long; and to guarantee that the above goals are achieved, we need to fully respect the values of human rights, plough deep and cultivate our store of relevant knowledge, advance and protect the design and implementation of human rights mechanisms, and make our system of constitutional democracy work.
We sincerely hope that through study and exchange at this International Symposium, government employees and the general public will develop a stronger interest in human rights, and hope international society can give us more encouragement and assistance. We are very happy and also very proud that Taiwan has chosen to take its own road--Taiwan has chosen the road of democracy, freedom, human rights, and peace, which is the correct road, and one that is built on the sacrifice of many people before us. We also hope that at the same time as we accumulated experience and knowledge on human rights, that we will have more opportunities to participate in international human rights affairs, to universalize human rights, and contribute whatever we can.
Finally, I would like to thank the organizers: the Taiwan New Century Foundation, and participating Ministries and Commissions of the Executive Yuan; extend my wishes to the smooth success of the conference; and wish everyone good health, and good fortune!