A forum for "facilitating communication" among the nation's allies and other Pacific and East Asian countries initiated by Vice President Annette Lu (
President Chen Shui-bian (
"I believe that by convening the second [Democratic Pacific] Assembly, we will be able to usher forth the birth of the Democratic Pacific Union in the near future," Chen said in a written congratulatory statement welcoming academics and foreign dignitaries to the three-day assembly, which started yesterday.
The assembly was first held last year to promote democracy, human rights and freedom.
Through seminars and plenary sessions, more than 100 experts and political figures from 24 nations will take part in the assembly to discuss cooperation on a wide range of issues, including regional security, maritime resources, industrial development and technology exchanges, along with the promotion of democracy.
Acknowledging Lu's active promotion of the realization of the assembly, Chen noted that the assembly, having undergone lengthy preparation, "is dedicated to developing an alliance of Pacific Rim democracies and their joint creation of a platform for dialogue and a mechanism for cooperation."
"We hope sincerely that the promotion of soft diplomacy will inspire democratic countries in the Pacific region to establish alliances based on the ideals of security, freedom, democracy and human rights," Chen said.
"That these alliances can be further developed into a security mechanism that can prevent conflicts and wars before they happen," Chen said.
The president will address the assembly's attendants as the keynote speaker during the event's opening ceremony today. The president of El Salvador, Elias Antonio Saca, will be the other keynote speaker at the event, with a speech entitled "A New Vision for the Pacific Era."
Among the dignitaries attending the event include 1976 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Betty Williams, Panamanian Vice President Arturo Vallarino, Vice President of Nicaragua Rizo Castellon and former chairman of the International Relations Committee of the US House of Representatives Benjamin Gilman.
"Through this event, we wish to implement step by step what we have long promoted -- soft national power and a maritime-oriented nation," Lu told reporters after she attended a seminar yesterday, adding that she would have a "surprise announcement" to make during the assembly.
While expressing her anticipation to meet with Hou Ren (
"I believe my meeting Hou Ren will be heart-warming," Lu said. "However, given that [the assembly] is a serious international meeting, I hope everyone will focus attention on the development of the world."
Also see story:
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique