Taipei, July 1 (CNA) Japan, South Korea, the United States and Taiwan should follow the example of the European Union and form a "Pacific Democratic Alliance" in Asia, Vice President Annette Lu told a group of foreign visitors Monday.
Receiving the visitors, who came to Taipei to attend a 2002 Taiwan-Japan Forum, Lu said a democratic alliance would promote democracy in Asia, which houses four of the world's five communist countries, while 15 out of its 39 countries are not democracies.
A forum to discuss and spread this concept would be the first step in forming such an alliance, to be followed by setting up a non-governmental organization and eventually a democratic alliance.
However, one of the visitors pointed out that the wide differences between Asian countries in terms of history, culture and religion make it unimaginable that any group such as the one proposed by Lu could be successful in the region.
Lu said Taiwan feels an affinity toward Japan, although it shares a common language and ancestry with mainland China, which, according to the vice president, proves that common values can form a strong bond between different nations.
Lu also claimed that Japan, South Korea, the United States and Taiwan are homogenous in culture and political systems and that therefore, the alliance should start among them first.