Academics, opinion leaders and strategists from 14 countries will gather tomorrow for the start of the 2002 Asia-Pacific Democratic Cooperation Forum (APDCF) Conference.
President Chen Shui-bian (
James Steinberg, vice president of the US think tank the Brookings Institute, who was deputy national security adviser to former US president Bill Clinton, will be the moderator for the first session of the conference. Discussions will focus on the general development of democratization in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a spokesman for the World League for Freedom and Democracy (WLFD), one of the co-sponsors of the conference.
Presenters of papers at the session will include Odina Desrochers, a member of the Canadian Parliament; Senator Somkiat Onwimon from Thailand; Celia Layus, a Philippine parliamentarian; Yoshihide Soeya, a professor from Japan's Keio University; and Huang Ying-ming, executive director of Taiwan's Asia-Pacific Public Affairs Forum.
Peng Ming-min (
In a joint statement, Peng and Chang said that democracy is the mainstream political value of the 21st century, with universal appeal, and that Taiwan's democratization has brought the country into the global mainstream, as well as making it a leading example of democracy in Asia.
They said cooperation among the emerging regional democratic community is the key to expanding the process to include those societies still suffering under authoritarian rule.
"We believe that a region that enjoys greater democracy and protection of human rights will surely have great benefits for peace in the world," they said in their statement.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition