Democracy and freedom are universal values for the whole world, and Taiwan has set a good example for China in this regard, Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) said in New York on Saturday.
Chiu made the remarks at a seminar held in New York to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the June 4 Tiananmen massacre in 1989.
Academics from around the world and Chinese pro-democracy activists took part in the seminar, including Feng Congde (
Expressing his admiration for the sacrifice that the students and other people made for the movement, Chiu said that 15 years later, amid changing times, Taiwan's democratization has caught up with the mainstream trends of the international community, while the whole world is paying more heed to democratic developments in China.
If greater democratization in China can help reduce tensions and differences between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan's experiences in democratic development in turn are good examples for China, Chiu said.
He urged the Beijing regime to study the proposal raised by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in his inaugural address that Taiwan and China should seek to engage in improving bilateral ties based on dignity, reciprocity and security.
"The status quo must be fully respected and negotiations should replace confrontation," Chiu quoted Chen as having said.
Yu Jie (
Feng attributed the failure of the bloody 1989 pro-democracy movement to unsuccessful organization and the way the activity was handled by the students, which led to it being crushed by the military.
Pan Qing (
Chen Xiaoya (
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