Taiwan set for `gentle rise': Lu

Vice President Annette Lu points to a map of Pacific Rim countries during an international press conference yesterday for the establishment of the Democratic Pacific Union. PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUI, TAIPEI TIMES

Taiwan will "rise gently" in the international community through the operation of the Democratic Pacific Union (DPU), a new international organization initiated by Taiwan to promote the value of democracy worldwide, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday.

The union will be officially established in Taipei on Aug. 14, the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. At an international press conference held yesterday prior to the establishment, Lu said three core values, democracy, peace and prosperity, can be further ensured through the collaborative interaction of the Pacific Rim nations, which have 40 percent of the global population and whose economic performance denominates more than half of the global market.

Seventy-one guests from 26 DPU member states will be attending the two-day forum on Sunday and Monday to talk exchanged opinions regarding development of democracy, peace, and prosperity. Guests will include the presidents of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Palau. Others are high ranking government officials, professionals, academics and representatives of major NGOs.

"The DPU was not formed to hold a series of forums. It is not an intergovernmental organization, but a union giving consideration to areas in the Pacific Rim," Lu said.

The international secretariat of the DPU will be set up in Taipei, while local branches in all member states will be established within three years to further deepen relations among union participants.

"The DPU aims to promote democracy. We haven't even intentionally rejected China, whose national leaders are not decided through a democratic process. We welcome China's participation as an observer to work with other members and pursue democracy," Lu said.

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday also said that, on the 60th anniversary of World War II, the lessons people had learned from war had to be remembered. However, people in 15 of 31 Asian countries suffer from unsatisfying political situations, a lack of human rights, and other torturuous living conditions. More to the point, four out of five exisitng communist regimes are in Asia, and some of them have even threatened nuclear war, he said.

"Therefore, our new strategic concepts are to ensure the democracy of Taiwan, to assist other countries to development democracy, and to normalize economic prosperity in the region," Chen said.

Meanwhile, media representatives from Guatemala and Panama asked if the Taiwanese government would be effectively monitoring flows of Taiwan's financial assistance to their governments, Lu said that all contributions were made based on Taiwan's laws.

"Goodwill among friends should not be misinterpreted. We can't possibly go to those countries to monitor how the donations are appropriated," Lu said.

"Should you have problems with how your governments distribute the contributions, please ask your own governments," Lu said.

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (高英茂) also refuted fresh allegations that Taiwan had bribed leading politicians in some Latin American countries for their diplomatic support.

"All donations had been for ODS [official development assistance]," Kau said.