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(Kaohsiung,
Taiwan/ March 4, 2004) His Excellency Chen Shui-bian, President
of Taiwan and Chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive
Party (DPP), assumed the chairmanship of the Council of Asian
Liberals and Democrats (CALD) during the turn-over ceremonies
that coincided with the opening of the Liberal International
Asian Conference. He took over from M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra,
MP, of the Democrat Party of Thailand.
President
Chen will be the leader of the council for two years, marking
the first time in over a decade that the group has been led by a
serving head of state.
In an
address marking his acceptance of the rotating chairmanship,
Chen described the CALD as "a chain of democracy and freedom" in
Asia and said the new position "is an honor and responsibility
for both myself and the 23 million Taiwanese people."
President
Chen said that he hoped to expand the size of the alliance and
exchanges among its members, construct a "communications
platform for the values of democracy, freedom and human rights"
in the region, and "build a partnership between the CALD and
international liberals and democrats" in order to help promote
democratization and improve human rights in developing nations.
The ceremony
was attended by President Neyts-Uytteboeck of the Liberal
International, of which the Democratic Progressive Party is a
member, outgoing CALD Chairman Sukhumbhand of Thailand,
Examination Yuan President and former DPP Chairman Yao Chia-wen,
and DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung.
Chen, who
was awarded the Liberal International Prize for Freedom in 2001,
stated that more than 1 million Taiwanese people had "formed a
500 kilometer human chain in a simple and dignified manner" and
"successfully sent the messages to the world that Taiwan wants
peace, not missiles" and that "Taiwan wants democracy, not war."
Chen related
that Taiwan had passed through the phases of repealing martial
law, full parliamentary elections, direct presidential elections
and finally, in May 2000, the transfer of power of power between
political parties to consolidate democracy.
Chen said
Taiwan's democratic achievements derived from "our people's
identification with the land" and "our belief in
Taiwan
and our practice of the ideas of 'sovereignty rests with the
people' and 'the people are their own masters.'"
"We are
willing to share the democratic fruits created by the Taiwanese
people with all of our good friends here," added the DPP
chairman, who also expressed gratitude for support offered by
Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats leaders during his
successful presidential campaign in March 2000.
Chen said
the main reason for the DPP's victory was its determination to
press for reforms and sweep out "black and gold" corruption.
The
president told the assembled Asian liberals that the DPP
administration had made "considerable progress" in curbing
political corruption and vote buying.
"The 'black
and gold' elite connected with the authoritarian regime in the
past has either been prosecuted, sentenced or fled abroad,
waiting for the old regime to return," said Chen.
As a result,
Chen said a recent evaluation by the Switzerland-based Political
and Economic Risk Consultancy ranked Taiwan fourth in "incorruptiveness"
among 12 Asian countries.
"We are
still dissatisfied with such a result because fostering a civil
society with clean politics is the DPP's ultimate goal," Chen
said.
Chen also
told the Asian liberals that his administration was committed to
"smoothly completing'
Taiwan's
first referendum, scheduled together with the presidential
election on March 20, "to allow Taiwan's democratic
consolidation to continue." (from Taipei Times) |
