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Greetings from Dr. Michael Ying-mao Kau |
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Written by Dr. Michael Ying-mao-Kau
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Monday, 19 November 2007 |
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am very pleased that the second international conference on global support of democratization in China and Asia is being held here at the headquarters of the European Union. Welcome to Brussels!
2007 happens to be the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, which makes it a very appropriate time to talk about freedom, democracy and human rights – the pillars of the traditional EU values and guiding principles of EU. The EU has set a good example for political unification on the basis of shared common values. It has successfully established supranational and transnational institutions based on freedom, democracy and human rights.
Asia presents a marked contrast. More than half of the world population is living within the Asian continent, and half of them are still suffering as a result of undeveloped economies and undemocratic political systems typically seen in countries such as China, North Korea and Burma. These countries form the greatest hindrance to the democratization of Asia and deserve the most concern of all of us here. The purpose of this conference is to address this challenge and to promote democracy in these areas with united forces.
Taiwan has created an economic miracle and now made a political achievement. Of course, its political system is still not perfect and cannot in its present form be considered to be satisfactory. However, it follows the world trend toward greater democracy and has become the most democratic model state among those of the Chinese.
Taiwan offers an argument against a current of new authoritarianism displayed under the banner of so called Confucian or Asian values, which is used by some governments and politicians to explain the incompatibility of democracy in their societies, but in reality it is nothing but a poor excuse for preventing democratic transformation. The fact is, if democracy can be practiced in Taiwan, it can be practiced in China and in the rest of Asian countries as well. To turn it into reality is the objective of this conference and our mission for the future.
One of the Chinese democratic activists from Germany mentioned that the World Health Organization is opening its conference on this same day. I think we need to be reminded here that the SARS disaster, which brought the whole world into panic, was created by the Chinese government as they tried to conceal the truth about the extent of the outbreak. Taiwan has been refused as a member of WHO and marks a gap on the chain of world disease prevention, and this should be directly considered the result of a lack of democracy in China. Therefore, I appeal here to the world democracies to use their united efforts to promote democratization in China. Health is one of the basic human rights which Taiwan has made significant efforts to uphold. Taiwan’s application to become a member of WHO reinforces the importance they place on this basic human right. International societies should not be deceived by the political stories that the Chinese government have invented. It is my hope that our pro-democracy friends from around the world can help Taiwan to enter WHO, just as they would help a democratic state to support basic health policies as a human right.
I sincerely hope that the conference can bring a better understanding of the necessity of democratization in China and help to turn the idea into effective actions, thereby contributing to the promotion of democratization in whole Asia.
Thank you!
Dr. Michael Ying-mao-Kau
Taiwan/ROC Representative in the EU and in Belgium |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 31 December 2007 )
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Berlin, May 15-19, 2006
The First International Conference on Global Support for
Democratization
in China and Asia
Brussels, May 14-16, 2007
The Second International Conference on Global Support for
Democratization
in China and Asia
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