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(December 8,
2007/ Taipei, Taiwan) H.E. Chen Shui-bian, President of Taiwan,
delivered his welcome address today at the Taipei International
Convention Center to formally open the Liberal International
(LI) Conference on Human Rights and CALD General Assembly.
President Chen is the current chair of the Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP) and the former chair of CALD, assuming
the post from 2004-2005.
In his
welcome remarks, he said “LI and CALD have played a positive
role in helping to strengthen and consolidate Taiwan’s democracy
and in maintaining peace in the region…we will continue to work
hard with Taiwan’s best friends, LI and CALD, for the freedom,
democracy, peace, and security of all people.”
Lord John
Alderdice, LI president, and Mr. Hubertus von Welck, FNF
regional director for East and Southeast Asia, also gave their
welcome remarks on behalf of LI and FNF respectively, stressing
the importance of sustaining the dialogue among the liberal
organizations and reminding the assembly of the crucial roles
that these networks play in fighting for the cause of democracy
and human rights.
Hon.
Franklin M. Drilon, CALD chair, delivered his welcome speech on
behalf of the CALD member parties and reiterated the call on
parliamentarians to “relentlessly pursue policies that will
eliminate crimes against humanity (and)…as deeply committed
Liberals, we must collectively defend human rights at all cost.”
This
three-day conference, with the theme “Strengthening Networks and
Combating Human Trafficking”, is organized by LI and CALD,
hosted by DPP and supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation
(FNF) for Liberty and the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD).
This is the
already the fourth joint-project of LI and CALD following the
2004 LI Asian Conference in Kaohsiung, Taiwan which focused on
democratic consolidation and the role of political parties, the
2005 LI Women’s Workshop and CALD General Assembly with
the theme "Advancing Women in Politics", and
the 2006 ALDE-CALD-LI meeting in Manila, Philippines which
tackled issues on population, immigration and the globalization
of labor.
High profile
speakers from across Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe
converged to discuss the imperative institutional approaches to
human rights and the rising global concern on human trafficking.
Among the speakers are
Baroness Falkner of Margravine, Liberal Democrat peer from the
House of Lords in the United Kingdom,
Hon. Andrej
Zernovski, MP, deputy leader of the Liberal Democratic Party in
Macedonia, Ambassador
M.
Nagui
ElGhatrifi, executive member of the Network of Arab Liberals,
Lord
Russell Johnston, president of
ALDE group
in the Parliamentary Assembly
of
the Council of Europe,
Hon. Tina Acketoft, MP,
deputy for
the Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe and
member of
the Liberal Party of Sweden, Tan Sri Dr. Chin Fook Weng, senator
from the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, Hon.
Lorenzo Tanada III, MP, chairman of the Human Rights Committee
of the Philippine House of Representatives and member of the
Liberal Party,
Ambassador
Kasit Piromya, director for International Affairs of the
Democrat Party of Thailand and advisor to the party leader,
and Cambodian members of parliament from the Sam Rainsy Party,
Hon.
Sam Rainsy, Hon. Saumura Tioulong and Hon. Son Chhay.
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