Prof. Kirby, distinguished members of the Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Student Association, ladies and gentlemen:
Good morning to all of you. In Taipei, it is now late at night. People here are still celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year. As you know, new year bears great significance to the Chinese. It is a time for family reunion, ancestor-worshiping, and happy celebration. This year is the Year of the Horse, and horse symbolizes speed and vitality. I avail myself of this opportunity to wish all of you speedy success in doing everything.祝福大家一馬當先, 馬到成功.
Thanks to the development of telecommunication high-tech, I, although sitting right now at the Presidential Office in Taipei, am able to meet with you who are gathered at Harvard University for the ITASA conference. I know that all the participants in this 2-day conference are Taiwanese or Taiwanese American students coming from Harvard, Yale, MIT, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Wellesley, Boston University, Tufts, and Brown. The purpose of this conference, if I understand correctly, is to reflect on the traditional cultural merits of Taiwanese Americans on one hand, and, on the other hand, to help you bring these merits into full play so as to integrate successfully into the American society. It is my firm belief that your brainstorming will yield very fruitful results. And I feel greatly honored to exchange views with you via live videoconference address.
As a graduate of Harvard, as a fighter for freedom and democracy, and as vice president of Taiwan, I would like to share with you my personal experiences in the process of modernization in Taiwan which has in the past five decades gone through great changes--from authoritarianism to democracy, and from conservativeness to openness. In the meantime, Taiwan-PRC relations have long been focus of world attention. In fact, threat from the People's Republic of China has never ceased. I am willing to offer you my observations in this respect to help you better understand what is going on in this part of the world.
Let me begin by talking about myself. Age is a secret of most women but not me. I was born on June 7 of 1944, the time when the Allied troops landed Normandy during World War II. In Taiwan, that was still a period when people valued boys above girls. As the youngest child and the third girl in a poor family, on two occasions I was almost given away to other families, a common practice in Taiwan at that time. Fortunately, my elder brother and sisters took me away in time. Since my childhood, my elder brother has been my model. He graduated from law department at National Taiwan University, the best university in Taiwan, and so did I. He is now a lawyer with good reputation and a member of the board of directors of National Bar Association. If I had chosen to become a lawyer in the beginning, I might have been equally successful.
But I started feminist movement when I was 27, advocating equal rights for men and women. Today, "equal rights for all" is a matter of course to all of you. But at that time, my views were considered traitorous in such a conservative society as Taiwan. What I have gone through over the past years was beyond your imagination.
But I have put behind me all those unpleasant memories. My motto has been "To do things or express views whenever and wherever I am most needed." I agree to what Westerners say: "When God comes to us in our final judgement, any decorations or titles become nothing. Only our heart is noble."
Harvard University is my alma mater. My school days there can be divided into two parts. The first was from 1977 to 1978 when I obtained my LL.M.; the second from 1986 to 1989, when I was a research fellow at Harvard International Human Rights Program. In retrospect, Harvard has given me the most fruitful and stimulating time in my life. Harvard had taught me to embrace truth and justice with my soul and body.
In 1978, perceiving that the United States would soon sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan, I gave up my scholarship and returned to Taiwan in order to warn our people about the forthcoming diplomatic change. Under the martial law, such news was blockaded by the Kuomintang government because it might undermine morale. Freedom to press and to express was limited; only during election campaigns can people enjoy a short period of freedom of speech. So I decided to take advantage of the coming election and run for the National Assembly so that I could share with what I learned in the States and what I concerned about Taiwan's future with the general public. But when the US announced diplomatic severance one week before the scheduled election, the Kuomintang government cancelled the elections. Afterwards, ironically, on December 10, 1979, at an International Human Rights Day rally that later became known as the "Kaohsiung Incident", I delivered a 20-minute speech criticizing the Kuomintang government. In return, I was tried by a military court, found guilty of violent sedition based on fabric stories and confessions made out of coercion and harassment, and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Imprisoned for 1,933 days altogether, I was not allowed to see my mother for the last time before her death, let alone attending her funeral.
Coming back from Harvard to Taiwan, I stayed in jail for 5 and half years. Very few politicians come from Harvard to prison; and even fewer come from prison to presidency. Under the martial law period, those who could be released from prison were really lucky. And I have been more than lucky because Mr. Chen Shui-bian chose me as his running mate for Taiwan's presidential campaign of the year 2000, and we defeated the ruling Kuomintang which had been in power for 55 years in Taiwan--not with gun violently, but with smiles and speeches peacefully and cheerfully. This is a dramatic change in my life; this is also a climax of Taiwan's democratization process. When I was put in jail, no one could have imagined that, 20 years later, I would fight shoulder by shoulder with one of the lawyers of the "Kaohsiung Incident" defendants to win the presidential election, and completed peaceful transition of power in Taiwan, the first time in the 5,000-year-long Chinese civilization. And I become the first female vice president elected by the people. If Taiwan's democratization can be called a success, many people have made contributions to that, and some have even sacrificed their lives. President Chen and I were lucky enough to survive the martial law period and help the blossom of Taiwan's democracy. We really appreciate the value of democracy and freedom.
When I talk about Taiwan, many of you may think of another country across the Taiwan Strait—the PRC. For decades, the PRC's threat to Taiwan has been constant and imminent. It is no exaggeration to say that PRC is a nightmare to people on Taiwan. If it had not been the threat from the PRC, Taiwan would have been what the Portuguese sailors called "Ila Formosa"—the beautiful island.
The problem existing between Taiwan and PRC is, in short, that the PRC intends to swallow Taiwan up whereas Taiwan tries her best to maintain the sovereign rights. The disputes therefore concern the so-called "one China" principle, the "one country, two systems" formula, the "1992 consensus", and the "independence vs. unification" disputes. Regarding these issues, I would like to offer my own observations for your reference.
Speaking of the "one China" principle, Beijing always declares: "There is only one China in the world. Taiwan is part of China. And the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government of China." This is Beijing's three-part argumentation. Let us take a closer examination at it.
The first part reads: "There is only one China in the world." Yes, it is just like "There is only one United States, one United Kingdom, or one Japan in the world." No one would object to it. But no American, British, or Japanese would keep saying that. If someone always repeats this, there should be two reasons:
--Reason 1:That man is insane.
--Reason 2: The fact is not so, and therefore it has to be emphasized again and again until other people are forced to accept it.
Obviously, Beijing's claim belongs to the second category.
Of course, the PRC has effective control over the Chinese mainland. So if the definition of "China" is confined only to the Chinese mainland, we would never challenge the argumentation that "There is only one China in the world."
But Beijing second argumentation is: "Taiwan is part of China." Is this a reality? As we all know, Mao Tse-tung founded the PRC in 1949, but that regime has never exercised effective control over Taiwan. The 23 million people in Taiwan can tell the world loud and clear that: "No, Taiwan is by no means part of the PRC." The Beijing authorities always claim that: "Taiwan is an inseparable part of China." But everyone who is familiar with Chinese history knows that, in the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, the Manchu government ceded Taiwan and Penghu islands to the Japanese "in perpetuity". History tells us that Taiwan is not an inseparable part of China.
An even more important treaty concerning Taiwan's relations with China is the Peace Treaty of San Francisco of 1951 which was signed by nations engaging in World War II to deal with the problems in the aftermath of the war. In that treaty, Japan unconditionally gave up her claim to the sovereignty over Taiwan and Penghu islands. But to which nation Taiwan was returned had not been mentioned. It is because the Korean war broke out in 1950 and the signatories did not want to see Taiwan fall into the hands of Chinese Communists. So they deliberately neglected this problem.
The third and final argumentation of Beijing is that "The People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government of China." In my view, as long as the PRC does not claim to represent Taiwan and as long as the PRC has effective control over the Chinese mainland, we would not object to that argumentation.
In fact, the three-part argumentation of Beijing is a trap. If Taiwan accepts it, we simply fall into the quick sand and drown ourselves. The "one China" principle is like the king's new dress in a famous fairy tale. Many nations do not wish to offend Beijing, so they simply lie by saying that the king's new dress is beautiful. But in fact the king does not wear anything. Let us face the reality. Taiwan is never part of the PRC.
The Beijing authorities keep saying that the "one-China" principle or the "one country, two systems" formula is their bottom line. To Taiwan, "one China" is an issue that can be discussed on the negotiation table, rather than a precondition. I myself prefer to replace the disputable "one China" concept with the "one Chinese" idea—一個中華. People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait use the same language and are of the same blood. I believe we can all agree that both sides belong to the same Chinese culture. The past hatred and strife between the Kuomintang and the Chinese communists should have come to an end on May 20, 2000, when the Democratic Progressive Party became Taiwan's ruling party. We admit that Taiwan and PRC have special relations in terms of history and culture. The two are relatives, such as the relations between the United States and the United Kingdom. And geographically, Taiwan and the PRC are neighbors. Being both relatives and neighbors, both sides should take care of each other and co-exist peacefully. We should get rid of war and hatred.
As for the "one country, two systems", it itself has indicated that one of the two systems is not good enough; otherwise why bother to have a second system? Instead of "one country, two systems", I would rather suggest that let both China and Taiwan set up one system first—the system of freedom and democracy.
Now let me talk about the 1992 consensus. Beijing asserts that in 1992, Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation and the PRC's Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits reached a consensus regarding the "one China" principle. This is not the case. We acknowledge that, in 1992, there were discussions, but no consensus was reached. If there was any consensus, that should be "verbal expression by each side on the one China dispute". In other words, both sides "agree to disagree" regarding the one China dispute. Nevertheless, in October 1993, Beijing issued the White Paper on the Taiwan issue, in which it re-emphasized the above-mentioned three-part argumentation, explicitly asserting that the one China refers to the PRC. In other words, Beijing herself has formally denied the "verbal expression by each side on the one China issue" it suggested in 1992. In that case, why should Taiwan accept it?
Beijing's long-standing threat has adversely affected Taiwan's security and welfare. We never intend to go to war with the PRC. This is now 21st century and we should have new thinking. Relations across the Taiwan Strait should be redefined. Competition yes and confrontation no. Why don't both sides compete in terms of political systems? That is to say, let the world see whose system is better, whose policies can win people’s support. To compete by system can benefit people on both sides. The "independence vs. unification" dispute or any form of confrontation is the historical product during the Kuomintang and Communist struggle. Let us look forward and forget about it. Ever since President Chen Shui-bian assumed presidency and the DPP became Taiwan’s ruling party, this dispute has become meaningless. If Beijing could not give up its hegemonic and patriarchal mentality, if Beijing continues to treat Taiwan as its subordinate, Taiwan will go farther and farther away.
President Bush is scheduled to visit China next week. As usual, Beijing will try its best to persuade President Bush into saying something disadvantageous to Taiwan. Such a mindset will impair the healthy interaction between Taiwan and PRC. It will further increase the worries of people in Taiwan. So I would like to urge the Beijing authorities to work hand in hand with President Chen Shui-bian for "goodwill reconciliation, active cooperation, and permanent peace." I would also draw your attention that China has deployed 400 Ballistic Missiles aiming at Taiwan along the coast, with an increasing rate of 50 missiles each year. Please take urgent action to urge China to stop their military hegemony if you can. Especially since the beginning of this year, Taiwan and the PRC have been members of the World Trade Organization. Under this mechanism, both sides are equal partners and can work together according to international norms. This will prove mutually beneficial.
Taiwan is small in size, but it has vigor and vitality. For the past fifty years, our people have created the world-acclaimed Taiwan miracle. This miracle refers to not only economic achievements, but also our strength in democracy, freedom, human rights, love, and high-technology. I call these Taiwan's "soft powers". But the PRC does not have them. Take my own experience as example. Having been jailed as dissident for nearly six years, I can still be elected as vice president. Can such things happen in the PRC? No way. The PRC is big, yes; but it is tyrannical and hegemonic, like a lion. And Taiwan is like a lovely kitty cat. Which do you like to embrace, the kitty cat or the roaring lion? The answer is obvious.
I hope my explanations above can give you a clearer picture about the current relations between Taiwan and the PRC. It is also my earnest hope that you will pass these messages to your friends so that everyone can help Taiwan gain her rights in taking part in international organizations and activities. The 23 million people on this island deserve these rights.
During my 6-year imprisonment, I had been deprived of personal freedom by the Kuomintang government. But ironically, after I fought for the freedom and democracy of the 23 million people of Taiwan and become vice president, I was again deprived of my freedom to travel by many foreign governments, including the United States, simply because the PRC does not like it. I can't even go back to Harvard University, my alma mater. So I can only meet with you through these videoconference facilities. But it is still a great pleasure for me to have this opportunity to share with you my memories and visions for the future.
Before ending my speech, I would like to invite all of you to visit Taiwan in the future or even come back to work after your graduation. I can assure you that you will never come from Harvard to prison as I did. Taiwan is now a free and democratic society. Starting from the first day of this year, Taiwan has formally become the 144th member of the World Trade Organization. It will widen Taiwan's outlook. It certainly will also open a door for Taiwan into the world. Taiwan is a global island opening to the international community. Taiwan should never be swallowed up by the PRC or by any other nations. This is the root of your family and the home of your parents or grandparents. You will always be welcome here.
Thank you for your attention. And may I wish all of you a brilliant future!