Dr. Kei-Yee Lee, President of Chinese Medical Women's Association, Dr. Shelley Ross, President of the Medical Women's International Association, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is quite a pleasure to be here today to attend the opening ceremony of the 7th Western Pacific Regional Congress of the Medical Women's International Association! On behalf of the people of Taiwan, I would like to express my warmest welcome to all of you who come here to attend this significant conference.
The Medical Women's International Association is the oldest international medical society in the world. Since its establishment in 1919, the organization has grown into the largest assembly for female physicians around the world with members representing 75 countries in all five continents. In Taiwan, the Chinese Medical Women Association was established in 1954 to serve as a unique voice for women's health and the advancement of women in medicine.
When CMWA was founded five decades ago, there were only a few female doctors in this country. Due to gender inequality and lack of educational resources, very few girls could enter medical college. I still remember when I was little, I always wanted to be number one. One of my dreams was to become a medical doctor. However, I gave it up when I discovered that there was already a female doctor in my town! Otherwise, I would be a member of your organization rather than vice president.
Today, we see a growing number of women dedicating to the medial world: 22% of physicians and 21% of dentists in Taiwan are female. They have made substantial contributions to the improvement of Taiwan's public health environment. Fifty years ago, Taiwanese life expectancy was 54.8 years. Today, life expectancy has reached 72 years for males and 78 years for females.
In addition, women doctors in Taiwan have also presented a persisting and powerful voice in public issues. As pioneer of feminist movement in Taiwan, I often like to joke about the differences between men and women. Men are born to fight—over 99% of wars in history were initiated by male leaders—while women are born to create and cherish—as creator of life, women are bound to cherish all living beings on earth. I believe women’s motherly nature makes medical doctor an ideal career for us, and women's participation in medical fields will contribute to knowledge advances in health and medicine.
The theme of today's conference is "Women's Health Promotion and Rejuvenation in the 21st Century," which is an extremely important but often ignored issue. The impact of gender on health has not yet been well understood by scientists, and the lack of such knowledge may have serious consequences. President Shelley Ross has well said in her welcome message: "women's health is more than biology and it is more than just women's reproductive function. Women's health involves women's emotional, social, cultural, spiritual, and physical well-being and is determined by the social, political, cultural and economic contexts." Let more women care more about women's health!
Some of you may be interested in our history and the people. The majority of the residents on Taiwan are descendants of Chinese immigrants who moved to the island since the 17th century. In the past three hundred years we have experienced colonial rules by the Dutch, the Chinese, and the Japanese. We never had a chance to be the real master of the island until the year 2000, when President Chen Shui-bian and I, as candidates of the native Democratic Progressive Party, won the presidential election, and terminated the 55-year-long one-party-rule.
Taiwan's political miracle is accompanied by the economic miracle. From 1960s onward, the world has witnessed this island to develop into a prosperous and energetic economic power. Today's Taiwan is the 13th largest trading nation in the world and is taking a leading position in high-tech industry. The average income, calculated in terms of purchasing power parity, reaches 20,000 US Dollars while it was $150 fifty yeas ago.
Despite the remarkable achievements in political and economic areas, we people of Taiwan still live under the constant and immense threat from the People's Republic of China, including 350 ballistic missiles deployed along China's southeast coast. In additions to the military threat, we have also been deprived of the chance to participate in international affairs. Today we are not even a member of World Health Organization, despite that we are willing to share our experiences in health care and eradication of diseases with our friends around the world. Denial of Taiwan’s right to join W.H.O. not only violates the spirit of the organization—"Health For All"—but also impedes Taiwan from bringing her rich medical resources into play to the benefit of all mankind!
Taiwan deserves the right to become a member of the international health community, and we have made the acquisition of the observer status of W.H.O. the top priority. This year, both the US and European Parliament have explicitly endorsed our efforts to become an observer at W.H.O. Taking this opportunity I would like to ask you to support Taiwan's W.H.O. bid. As your organization has been an active participant in various activities in the W.H.O., your support will be crucial to our success.
While male leaders are still indulged in pursuit of power and authority, it is we women's nature to prefer peaceful means to change the world. Here allow me share with you my philosophy of Soft Power that I have long advocated. In my view, Soft Power consists of five key elements: democracy, human rights, peace, love, and high technological progress. The idea of soft power is in sharp contrast with the so-called "hard power," which emphasizes exploitative materialism and aggressive militarism. With its heartless and mechanical nature, hard power is aggressive and destructive! Soft power, in contrast, makes use of mercy and wisdom to fight against injustice and authoritarianism. It is constructive and generous. The more you share them with others, the more you benefit yourself, and the better our overall human future will be. Doubtless, women doctors are the best players for soft power. You are the angles sent by God to relieve miseries on earth. You use love, wisdom, patience and benevolence to take care of those who suffer from pain and diseases. Your achievements inspire us women and your contributions make people healthy and happy. Thank you!