Mrs. DEMOUGEOT, Chairwoman of the Welcome Clubs International, Mrs. CHIOU, Acting Chairwoman of the Welcome to Taipei International Club, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Good morning and welcome to Taipei! For some of you who have been here before, Taipei is part of your old memory. For others, her new face in Taipei may remind you of the arrival of the new century with new perspectives.
Welcome Club International is an organization that provides foreigners, especially the spouses of diplomats, the necessary assistance when they arrive in a new place. Its main purposes are to offer community services, and to enhance friendship and mutual understanding for people with different cultural backgrounds. The first WCI group, the "Welcome to Washington International Club," was established in the United States in 1959. Over the years, it has developed into a worldwide organization with 18 divisions in various metropolises around the world. It is really an honor for the Taipei division to host this year’s bi-annual conference. Allow me to express my sincere regards to the success of this year's conference, and I hope your trip to Taiwan will enrich your experiences and memories.
Taiwan is a small island. Two thirds of the land areas are mountains. This means we have very few arable lands and very limited natural resources. These limitations, however, never conceal Taiwan's potential to becoming a jewel on the world scene. Some of you may have known, Taiwan was called "Formosa," means "A Beautiful Island." When a number of Portuguese sailors discovered this island in the mid-16th century, they were astonished by her beautiful scenery and the complexity of biological species. Before the arrival of Europeans, the island had been home for various aboriginal tribes who had lived peacefully with each other for centuries. Later the Chinese settlers, attempting to escape wars and famines in their motherland, flee to this island to start a new life.
Today, the majority of the residents on Taiwan are descendants of Chinese immigrants who moved to the island between the early 17th and the mid-20th century. We have experienced colonial rules by the Dutch, the Chinese, and the Japanese. By the mid-20th century, the transfer of Taiwan’s sovereignty occurred at least four times, but none of them was resulted with the consent of the local residents.
Worsely, for over the past five decades the people of Taiwan have lived under the constant and immense threat and bully from the People's Republic of China. In 1971, we lost our membership in the United Nations as Beijing replaced us to be the representative of China in the United Nations General Assembly. As a result, most nations decided to recognize the PRC at the price of cutting off diplomatic ties with Taiwan, making us an "abandoned child" in the international society. In recent years, China even intensifies its pressure by deploying more ballistic missiles across the Taiwan Strait, despite the goodwill shown and contribution made by Taiwan to China.
Under such enormous pressure, we Taiwanese people never gave up! From 1960s onward, the world has witnessed this poor and isolated island to develop into a prosperous and energetic economic power. Today's Taiwan is the 14th largest trading nation in the world and is taking a leading position in the high-tech industry. For instance, Taiwan is raking 3rd largest nation in IC industry and 15 items of IC products made in Taiwan occupy over a half of the world’s market. The average income, calculated in terms of purchasing power parity, also reaches 20,000 US Dollars while it was $150 fifty yeas ago.
Other than economic miracle, we have achieved another miracle in political sphere. By the mid-1980s, the people of Taiwan had lived under Martial Law for almost four decades, the longest in human history. Under the rule of an authoritarian government, the basic human rights had been strictly curtailed. Press was censored and all forms of opposition movements were banned. Virtually all the opposition leaders and activists were either jailed or forced to exile. Myself, then an activist of women’s rights and a deputy director of a magazine that advocated for human rights, was also sentenced to 12 years in prison by a military court for giving a 20-minute speech at a peaceful rally to commemorate the International Human Rights Day of 1997.
The rally on and the following trial was what we called the "Kaohsiung Incident." During the unprecedented military trial, 15 brave and smart lawyers stood up to defend for the freedom fighters. The youngest one was Mr. Chen Shui-bian, and one of the two seditious elements was me.
Beyond everybody's speculation, 20 years later, in the year 2000, Mr. Chen Shui-bian invited me to run for Presidency and Vice Presidency in the national election, and we took the power from the authorities with suppressed us decades ago. Our success not only marks the consolidation of a democratic power transfer on the island but also signifies the victory of the people's power and democratic values. We have shown to the entire world that it is people's power that puts half-century-long one-party rule to an end and creates the first multi-party democracy in Chinese history.
Of course, the democracy and development of Taiwan owes a great deal to foreign friends, especially the US. We will never forget the goodwill of those countries that helped us through those difficult times. And we are willing to share our experiences with those who are in need of help. When major earthquakes hit India, El Salvador, and Afghanistan, I launched campaign after campaign to raise money and relief materials to meet the needs of the victims of these disasters. A number of humanitarian organizations have even established constant relief programs overseas as well. Tsu-chi Foundation, a Buddhist charity group led by Mother Zheng Yan, is a good example. All of these have made Taiwan one of the most "charitable nations" in the world.
Why does Taiwan feel the need to help other peoples in the world? Very simple: we have experienced and overcome many years of difficulties. As a result, we know it is time for us to repay, to share our wealth and experience with those who indeed need help. One thing I want to specify is that after decades of suffering from poverty and authoritarian rule, the people of Taiwan have developed a special kind of characteristic, which I call "soft power." Soft power consists of five key elements: human rights, democracy, peace, love, and technological progress, which are intimately intertwined. The idea of soft power contrasts sharply with the notion of "hard power," which is based on exploitative materialism and aggressive militarism. Hard power, with its heartless and mechanical nature, ignores humane values and misleads nations toward over-centralization of state power and even military hegemony. It is aggressive and destructive! Soft power, in contrast, makes use of mercy and wisdom to fight against corruption, poverty and injustice. It is constructive and generous! It is the soft power that guided me to fight against patriarchism and to launch Taiwan's first women's movement. It is the soft power that gave me the courage to get through the difficulties in the darkness of prison. Central to the idea of soft power is that the more you share with others, the more you benefit yourself, and the better our overall human future will be. In a word, soft power is soft, but powerful.
"We Care," the theme of this year’s conference, also corresponds to the sprit of soft power. WCI cares about how the foreigners, who have just arrived in a new place to start a new life, can live well and comfortable. As the majority of Taiwan’s residents are immigrants, we have a tradition of taking care of new comers, helping them adapt to the changes of the living environment. The characteristic of hospitality and friendship is becoming more crucial today then ever, when there are 450,000 foreign citizens working and studying in Taiwan. These foreign guests make substantial contributions to Taiwan's economy and make this island a multi-cultural society with people from different backgrounds living peacefully with each other.
Ladies and gentlemen, in the next few days, you will fully experience the hospitality and friendship of us Taiwanese people. You will see the gorgeous scenery of our world-famous Taroko National Park. You will see how traditional culture has been preserved and rejuvenated. Most importantly, please open your mind to feel how we have utilized soft power to nurture this beautiful island. In particular, how women are making their lives happier and richer. Hope your visit in Taiwan will be fruitful and forgettable. Thank you.