President Chen's New Year message
As the year got off to a roaring start, ROC President Chen Shui-bian delivered a dynamic New Year's address, in which he spoke about cross-strait investment policy, public projects and the state of the economy. The following is the official English text of the president's speech, edited for length by Taiwan Journal staff. Full text available at www.president.gov.tw
Vice President Lu, respected colleagues, distinguished guests and fellow citizens: Happy New Year and greetings to you all!
Today we welcome the beginning of a new year--the ninety-sixth year of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
At the time of the new year countdown a few hours ago, accompanied by the blessing of splendorous fireworks shooting forth from the world's tallest building, Taipei 101, and with confidence, pride, and high expectations of ourselves as members of the global village, we 23 million Taiwanese joined with our more than 6 billion fellow human beings around the world in welcoming the arrival of 2007, and in praying that the whole of humanity will be able to enjoy greater peace, prosperity and justice in the coming year.
In 2000, we witnessed the alternation of governing parties and peaceful transfer of political power. In 2003, we enacted the Referendum Act. In 2004, we conducted the first national referendum. In 2005, we enacted constitutional revisions whereby the National Assembly was abolished and its power to ratify constitutional amendments was transferred to the people through exercising the right of referendum. On February 28, 2006, I declared that the National Unification Council had ceased to function, and the Guidelines for National Unification had ceased to apply.
Once again, it must be emphasized and reiterated that our country, Taiwan, has a total land area of 36,000 square kilometers; the sovereignty of Taiwan belongs to its 23 million people, not to the People's Republic of China; only the people of Taiwan have the right to decide Taiwan's future.
The 21st century is a century of globalization. As an oceanic nation whose development hinges on international trade, Taiwan cannot afford to distance itself from the world trends and should clearly identify the opportunities and challenges of globalization.
On this day five years ago, Taiwan officially joined the World Trade Organization as its 144th member, opening the world's markets to us and our market to the world. Although this greatly expanded our room for development, it also brought unprecedented competitive pressure.
In my 2006 New Year message, I declared that "proactive management and effective liberalization" would be the new guiding principle and course of action for cross-strait economic and trade policymaking. Examining our economic performance over the ensuing year, we have indeed done rather well.
For example, export volume and orders set new records, with their combined value in September 2006 exceeding the US$20 billion mark for the first time in a single month. The employment situation also steadily improved, with an average unemployment rate tabulated at less than 4 percent. Our foreign exchange reserves--a symbol of our collective wealth and the global business community's confidence in Taiwan--grew nearly threefold between 2000 and the end of November 2006, increasing from US$106.7 billion to US$265.1 billion. On the last trading day of last year, the Taiwan Stock Exchange reached its highest mark since August 5, 2000, while an increasing number of overseas capital investment institutions have expressed confidence that it is not unrealistic to expect the TAIEX to rise to 10,000 points within one or two years.
Furthermore, a survey conducted at the end of December 2006 indicated that 49.7 percent of respondents believed that regulations concerning China-bound investment should be tightened. About 56.7 percent of respondents were of the view that, unless there is a society-wide consensus to the contrary, the government should not further relax restrictions on cross-strait economic and trade relations.
As such concrete data demonstrate, whether judged in terms of economic performance or public opinions, the government's insistence on its cross-strait trade policies meets the expectations of the majority of our people.
Looking toward the future, the government shall persist in adhering to its two main pillars of governance--insisting on Taiwan-centric consciousness and achieving social equity and justice. We will strive to achieve the four major goals of increasing investment in Taiwan, creating employment opportunities, narrowing the urban-rural divide and reducing income disparities.
The government is committed to promoting sustainable economic development. We have proactively worked to attract China-based Taiwanese businesspeople to reinvest in Taiwan so as to buttress the foundation for national development. We will also speed up tax reform to create an internationally competitive tax environment. Furthermore, we have taken measures to revitalize the stock market in order to increase momentum to local capital markets. In order to create a more favorable investment and business environment for Taiwan, we continue to promote the development of and investment in up-and-coming industrial bases such as the Hsinchu Science Park, Central Taiwan Science Park and Southern Taiwan Science Park. Meanwhile, we will accelerate the development of the special commercial zones associated with the five major stations along the high-speed railway, guided by a philosophy of clustering businesses with distinctive local characteristics.
Moreover, this government is determined to promote social equity and justice. We have been taking forceful action to implement programs to help underprivileged families out of poverty so as to keep those experiencing hard times from sinking into despair. We are also setting up a system of community-based and nonprofit extended care to improve the quality of care for the elderly. We will expedite the passage of legislation to establish a national pension system and will press for its early implementation to further enhance our social security network. Furthermore, we have been working hard to set the National Health Insurance system on a sounder financial footing to enhance the nation's health. In addition, by establishing a program to provide assistance and counseling, we will help immigrant spouses from overseas--including those from China--improve their employability and achieve financial independence.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the February 28 Incident and the 20th anniversary of the lifting of martial law. In the period between these two events, the people of Taiwan were subjected to a full 40 years of a party-state regime and authoritarian rule. Even now, the suffering and wounds inflicted on the people of Taiwan as a result of the injustices perpetrated during that period have yet to be completely relieved and healed.
Over the past six years or so, in addition to making continual compensation payments to victims and their families, the government has declassified, compiled, and published official files and historical documents related to the February 28 Incident, the White Terror era and significant political cases from the martial law period. It is hoped that, through these means, we can uncover the truth of what happened and move a step closer to redressing injustices and restoring the reputations of those who died or suffered. Also, on February 28 last year, my administration instructed all government agencies, for the first time, to fly flags at half-mast as a sign of perpetual mourning for the victims of the February 28 Incident.
It is our responsibility and duty to bring closure to the memories of anguish and suffering of these past 60 years. It behooves us, therefore, to turn this 60th-anniversary year of the February 28 Incident into a significant watershed in the history of Taiwan's democratization and development of human rights.
The road from authoritarian rule to democracy is long and arduous. This is particularly true for Taiwan and other newly emerging third-wave democracies for which the gradual advance toward democracy started only within the past three decades. These democracies must bear the shock and turmoil simultaneously engendered by the twin forces of democratization and globalization. They face similar problems involving issues such as divisiveness over national and ethnic identity, vicious rivalry in multiparty politics, difficulties in promoting transitional justice, squabbling over the choice of a constitutional system and citizens' weak sense of social responsibility. Such problems pose serious threats to budding democracies and often become important factors leading to reversal of democracy and revival of authoritarianism.
As a new democracy, it is our responsibility and duty to spread the seeds of democracy to other countries and regions as we deepen democracy at home. We therefore advocate the unification of forces throughout the world that deeply care about the development of new democracies. Our aim is to initiate a "Global Forum on New Democracies" that will serve as a platform for dialogue and exchange. Prior to its formal establishment, we intend to convene an assembly in the near future to push for its creation. Former national leaders of new democracies in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America will be invited to come together and jointly seek solutions to common dilemmas and difficulties, as well as facilitate the birth of this global forum.
My dear fellow citizens:
As we greet the New Year, we also celebrate our entrance into a new era of innovation and speed. Since the transfer of power between political parties in 2000, the world's tallest building, Taipei 101, has surged heavenward to tower over Taipei and become a new landmark and source of pride for Taiwan. The Hsueh-shan Tunnel--which is the world's fifth-longest and Asia's longest highway tunnel and one of the world's most daunting feats of engineering--has finally reached completion and opened to traffic thanks to the labors of a construction team that worked round-the-clock, year-round without respite. Furthermore, the Taiwan High Speed Rail, which, in terms of capital, is the world's largest ever build-operate-transfer case and largest single transportation project in Taiwan's history, will soon begin its formal operations.
Here, I would like to express my most sincere gratitude and highest respect to all colleagues who have devoted themselves to national construction projects, especially those who have served as premier in the years since 2000 and their administrative teams. You have all worked very hard, suffering the resentment and slander of others without spite, regrets or fear. Hardship will eventually pass, whereas the recognition and gratitude felt by the people will remain forevermore.
These achievements are like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Only by piecing these various administrative achievements together can we see the overall picture.
In closing, let us wish our country great success and lasting prosperity. May good fortune prevail in the coming year. To all of my fellow citizens and colleagues, Happy New Year! May you enjoy peace and happiness. Thank you!
Taiwan-Nicaragua ties affirmed by state visit
ROC President Chen Shui-bian departed Jan. 8 for Managua to attend the inauguration of Nicaragua's president-elect Daniel Ortega Jan. 10. He was set to return to Taipei on the evening of Jan. 12. The trip marked Chen's first state visit this year and his 11th overseas trip since assuming office in 2000.
At Taiwan Taoyuan Airport before embarking on the trip, Chen said the theme of this journey was "Joint Prosperity and Continued Friendship." He hoped the two nations would use their existing friendly relations to further strengthen bilateral exchanges, and thereby create more well being for the people of the two countries, according to a news release posted on the Office of the President Web site.
Chen stated that pressure by China had long made it difficult for the ROC to carry out its diplomatic agenda, especially as Beijing sought to woo Taiwan's diplomatic allies and isolate Taiwan. He added that the PRC was using a variety of means to prevent Taiwan having any room for survival in the international community.
On his way to Managua, Chen stayed overnight in San Francisco Jan. 8, where he met David Lee, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, and Raymond Burghardt, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan. Chen also received William Perry, former U.S. defense secretary, and conversed by telephone with congressional leaders and Washington officials.
Ortega, leader of the left-wing Sandinista front, severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognized China in 1985, six years after overthrowing the Somoza regime. Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, who defeated Ortega in 1990, restored formal relations with the ROC. During last year's presidential election campaign, Ortega once again expressed his intention to forge ties with China. Nevertheless, since claiming victory in the Nov. 5 presidential poll and receiving Chen's congratulatory telephone message, the former Marxist promised his administration would deepen relations with Taiwan and would continue to expand bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Chen arrived in Managua in the afternoon of Jan. 9 and, after visiting a rehabilitation center for handicapped children, met with vice president-elect Jaime Morales Carazo at his hotel. Chen congratulated Morales on his party's victory and invited him to visit Taiwan. In the evening, Chen met Ortega at the Sandinista headquarters and conveyed his congratulations to the president-elect. The two leaders exchanged opinions on future cooperation, bilateral relations and related issues, according to another news release on the OOP Web site.
Both Ortega and Morales reassured Chen that their positions on maintaining ROC-Nicaraguan ties remained unchanged, the news release stated. Chen held an evening banquet for Taiwanese expatriates and ROC embassy and technical mission members, and a reception with journalists from Taiwanese media.
At those events, Chen revealed that Ortega told him the friendship between the Chinese Communist Party and Sandinista was solid, and representatives from the two parties had met in Mexico. Chen further related that China hoped to restore formal relations with Nicaragua after Ortega's inauguration, but that Nicaragua had decided to maintain diplomatic relations with the ROC after the new government was formed.
Chen also repeated his gratitude to the U.S. government for consenting to his transit stop in San Francisco on the basis of the principles of "safety, convenience, comfort and dignity."
Sony wins bidding war for 508 metre-high ad
A three-minute firework extravaganza that poured down from the Taipei 101 skyscraper greeted the arrival of 2007 in Taipei. This was witnessed by around 500,000 local residents who packed the city's downtown streets. It was also included on television schedules around the world, perhaps because, at 508 metres, Taipei 101 is still the world's tallest building.
This would have delighted executives of Japan's Sony Corp., which paid around US$920,000 to sponsor the firework display. For this, the electronics giant got to display the names of the company and its hottest product during and after the event.
This was the second time in the skyscraper's three-year history that Sony won the contract for the New Year firework display, although it was preceded by several months of intense negotiation among prospective sponsors. These included both domestic and international businesses, ranging from automobile manufacturers and telecommunications companies, to a joint bid by four leading domestic brands: Acer, Asus, BenQ and Giant.
The final contract-winning display was one minute longer than last year and included 10,000 fireworks, almost 25 percent more than on Jan. 1, 2006. The Taipei Financial Center Corp selected the sponsor based on the company's brand image and originality of marketing.
Sony told TVBS-news that the company bid to sponsor the display in light of the large commercial impact it could generate. It added that the product it advertised last year, a liquid-crystal display television, had become its top-selling product in terms of both revenue and volume since being launched on the Taiwan market.
The advertising effect of Taipei 101's display also reached international media, including CNN and EuroNews. Furthermore, last year Web users also transmitted the firework display via the Internet, and that more than 100 million e-mails containing the skyscraper's image were delivered or forwarded in the first half of 2006.
The TFCC also licensed Sony to reproduce images of the event in calendars, catalogues, TV commercials and magazine advertisements. Firework-related advertising could bring in more than US$3 million to the sponsor, according to a Dec. 28, 2006 report in the Chinese-language Economic Daily News.
E-passports not to hold biometric data: MOFA
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a plan to issue e-passports was still under study, but the new high-tech travel documents would not initially include specific personal information, such as fingerprints or iris patterns.
E-passports, also known as electronic passports or biometric passports, are a combined paper and electronic identity document that can use biometric data to authenticate travelers' citizenship.
The Chinese-language China Times and Apple Daily reported Jan. 15 that MOFA was planning to issue e-passports, which could not easily be forged and allowed travelers to pass through immigration faster. Nevertheless, the China Times report argued that this policy might infringe passport holders' human rights and privacy, since personal information would be stored in a small electronic microchip embedded in the travel document.
MOFA Spokesman David Wang said the personal information stored on the e-passport's chip would be the same as the information contained in the current passport. This would include date and place of birth, passport number and expiry date, as well as a photograph of the holder, but no fingerprint or iris pattern. He cited statistics showing that currently nearly 5 million Taiwanese people use their passports for traveling abroad. To date, 35 countries had issued e-passports, Wang said, stressing that they represented a world trend and that e-passports would be more effective in dealing with fraud or forgery.
The MOFA accepted that public opinions varied regarding the issue of fingerprints and biometrics, Wang said, adding that the ministry would take the protection of human rights and privacy into consideration and would not include additional information on e-passports until consensus had been reached.
Wang further related that MOFA had allocated a budget of US$30 million to cover the expenditure of issuing e-passports in 2007 and 2008, and had authorised the official Central Engraving and Printing Plant to produce the new travel documents, adding that all passports currently in use would continue to be valid until they expired.
Ninety-minute trip after 20-year wait
The nation's long-awaited bullet train system, operated by the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp., took to the rails Jan. 5.
That morning, three THSR 700T trains--a revised version of the 700 model used for Japan's Shinkansen high-speed railway--departed at 7 a.m. One left the provisional northern terminus of Banciao Station in Taipei County heading south, another left the southern terminus of Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung City heading north, and a third left Taichung Station in central Taiwan heading north. A fourth train left Taichung around 34 minutes later heading south.
White with a single orange stripe, the trains travelled at top speeds over 300 kilometres per hour. Following a five-minute stop in Taichung, they arrived at the opposite end of the 345-kilometer-long line at 8:30 a.m., taking two hours less than the Taiwan Railway Administration's fastest express trains.
The section of the line linking Banciao with Taipei City Main Station is expected to be approved for commercial runs before the Lunar New Year Feb. 18. Four more stations--Nankang in Taipei City, Miaoli, Changhua and Yunlin--would open sometime after 2010.
The service could change the way people work and live along Taiwan's densely populated western corridor, which is home to more than 90% of its 23 million population. "With the opening of the high speed rail, Taiwan island will become Taiwan city," predicts Hank Huang, at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. "Travel times and costs will dramatically decrease, communications between cities will be far easier, and Taiwan city can compete with the top Asian cities like Hong Kong and Shanghai," Mr Huang said.
Taiwan’s President Chen Shui-bian expected the system to generate economic benefits in the new year and bring gains in the stock market. In addition, the new train service is expected to benefit the property market in the areas through which the bullet train travels. According to Victor Chang, director of the research and development division at Sinyi Real Estate Inc, Taiwan’s biggest housing agent, the high-speed rail service would bring more and quicker benefits to the real estate market in the north of Taiwan.
The feasibility of constructing a high-speed railway through Taiwan's western corridor was first evaluated almost 20 years ago. The Legislative Yuan gave approval in May 1995 for the HSR project to be implemented using the Build-Operate-Transfer model. An invitation to tender bids was announced Oct. 29, 1996, with two private entities, China Development Corporation and Taiwan High Speed Rail Consortium, submitting proposals. The latter group renamed THSRC in 1998 was selected in September 1997.
Aiming for an original launch date of October 2005, construction began in 2000. At a press conference following the final review meeting, MOTC Vice Minister Ho Nuan-hsuen announced that THSRC had fulfilled each and every requirement of the inspectors. "Based on the evaluation of the Lloyd's Register Project Team and the three Japanese consultants, inspection results and relevant railway regulations, the ministry will approve THSRC to begin operations as soon as possible."
August 2002, Esperenza Chang spent three days riding a canoe, climbing through mountains and even wading across a fast-flowing river before she finally arrived at Alto Cuen, an isolated town in Costa Rica. The village chief welcomed Chang, saying it was six years since a doctor had been there. A Cuban doctor, a nurse and an assistant from Nicaragua accompanied Chang on the medical expedition.
A Taiwanese woman in her twenties, Chang worked as a pharmacist in a Taipei hospital before taking a leave of absence from her job to go to Costa Rica and serve as a volunteer. Chang could have lived a cozy life at home, among her family and friends. Instead, she chose to see the world and do some good for those who had fewer medical resources than her compatriots. "Modern society has gained a lot from indigenous people, but I kept asking myself 'what can I do for them?'" she recalled.
Chang was sent by the International Cooperation and Development Fund, a semi-official organization combining government and private-sector resources to carry out international aid programs.
Long before the creation of ICDF, the ROC government sent its first agricultural team to Vietnam in 1959 and sent Operation Vanguard, also an agricultural mission, to Liberia in 1961. The aim was to help expand and modernize the countries' production of fruits and vegetables.
Those missions led to the founding of the ICDF in 1996. The organization has now grown to more than 500 employees and dispatched over 200 volunteers, serving in over 32 countries.
One of the most significant functions of the fund is to send out overseas volunteers, which it has done since 1997. The process begins when ICDF contacts ROC embassies, missions and representative offices abroad to find out their volunteer needs. Then the organization recruits volunteers among college graduates or students currently in university, who are over 20 years old. The fund advertises through posters in MRT stations, TV commercials and their Web site.
The process varies with the nature of the work. Some volunteer jobs are short-term and are open to those who received two days of training from ICDF. Other jobs are long-term and need specialized experience. Applicants for these jobs have to pass a stricter exam, including a written test and an aptitude test. Then they must pass an interview to assess their language and professional skills. The fund selects their assignments based on the host country's needs and the applicants' abilities.
Before volunteers hit the road, they have to undergo four to six weeks of training, including language, professional skills, first-aid procedures, disease prevention and an introduction to the culture and customs of their assigned country. Once in the country, they also attend an additional four to six weeks of language classes.
The big challenge comes when they leave their motherland. Some workers were assigned to teach Mandarin in northern Thailand, some to take care of orphans in Panama or to preserve trees in Saint Vincent's forests. In order to adapt to places so different from home, volunteers must have more than their share of fortitude.
"They have to bear an angel's mind and be ready to undergo the baptism of hell," said Chen Cheng-chung, ICDF secretary general.
The "hell" Chen referred to are the challenges overseas volunteers face. Living in the developing world is far beyond the experience of Taiwan's young generation, who live with modern conveniences. "Having passion is not enough. The workers must remember their ideals and goals. Meanwhile, they need to develop the ability to make quick decisions in unexpected situations," Chen said.
Those situations included local riots, epidemics, and shortages of water and electricity. The Project Manager of the Technical Cooperation Department of the ICDF Hsu Hui-ling used her own experience an example: "In some of the places I've been, even rainwater could be used for drinking and bathing. And it was no surprise when I found maggots as I took a bath or boiled drinking water." Only a volunteer who can manage his or her emotions well can handle such harsh conditions.
Such dedication is necessary, as ICDF has higher goals than simply giving out food. "What we do is not limited to guaranteeing enough fish to eat or teaching how to catch fish--we seek to help others locate the ponds where fish are found," said Chen. This explanation also applies to the agricultural missions. The best examples of a typical agricultural mission are in Oceania, according to Chen. Agricultural mission members in the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Kiribati taught local people how to plant vegetables. After a successful harvest, the volunteers further taught local people how to make dishes out of the vegetables, because the residents had never cooked their vegetables before. From planting to cooking, the agricultural mission drew up a combination of initiatives rather than a single project so that problems could be resolved.
For medical missions--another form of ICDF's foreign assistance--Taiwanese doctors work in local hospitals in African countries, such as Malawi and Burkina Faso, going on regular tours to remote areas to provide free medical services. In addition, doctors help train local hospital staff in correct clinical procedures. Other Taiwanese doctors work in mobile medical missions, getting sent to Central and South American and Asia-Pacific countries. While they work in Taiwan at local hospitals most of the time, they can be sent abroad on short-term missions, ranging from two weeks to over a month. Chen noted that not a single doctor had shown hesitation about returning to the mobile medical missions. Instead, they discovered the dignity of being a doctor after participating. The doctors are now even looking forward to more chances of going abroad and providing their services.
In addition to its current tasks, ICDF is also committed to closing the gap between the world's rich and poor caused by the "digital divide" between developed and developing countries. Seeing that information and communication technology was advanced in Taiwan, the fund extended the range of their foreign aid to international cooperation plans related to ICT. One case was its participation in the APEC Digital Opportunity Center project that Taiwan first proposed in 2003, after which six ADOC offices were set up in 2004 to train future ICT professionals, with one each in Chile, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines and Vietnam.
In the Philippines, ICDF collaborated in May 2006 with the NGO Adaptive Technology for Rehabilitation, Integration and Empowerment of the Visually Impaired. Together, they established the ADOC e-Care Center in Quezon City, a training school aimed to guide the blind in using computers and other related equipment. The e-Care Center and the e-Schools the fund helped to build have made it possible even for people living in the most remote areas to gain access to a world they never knew before.
"Accomplishment comes in many forms. Some comes from titles and social positions. But sometimes it comes from helping an elder to cross the street. The little gesture makes us feel at peace, creating a feeling of great satisfaction," Chen said.
ICDF is still seeking to integrate the ADOC plan with Taiwan's agricultural technology. For example, it set up an information system in Panama in 2005 to monitor price fluctuations of agriculture products and created a Web site for the exchange of agricultural market information, according to the ICDF Web site. The monitoring system and Web site together will give buyers and vendors easy access to information, creating more business opportunities.
For the future, ICDF is still devising programs to address various international issues, including AIDS, environment protection, children, women, famine and poverty. "Other countries may provide more money than we do, but the aid we provided is different. We have the unique experience of development in Taiwan, better foreign aid skills and, most importantly, our people and our hearts are with the people of the countries we help," said Chen.