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Ministry announces pro-democracy task force for Myanmar

Taiwan will establish a task force under the nation's representative office in Thailand to provide help to the people of Myanmar in striving for democracy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

Pro-democracy activists in Myanmar last month staged protests against the junta, which reacted by launching a violent crackdown.

The ministry said in a press release that one of the task force's main functions would be to observe the political situation in Myanmar.

It will also work to share the nation's experiences in democratization with pro-democracy activists in Myanmar and cooperate with other foreign organizations to advocate a more open and democratic society.

The task force is also commissioned to join efforts to promote regional stability, safety and prosperity, the release said.

Taiwan has no representative office in Myanmar, with which it maintains no diplomatic relations.

In related news, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday that a Web site set up by the Democratic Pacific Union (DPU) to defend freedom and democracy for Myanmar had received a good reaction.

The DPU consists of 33 democratic countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Lu said that 14 video statements had been uploaded to the Web site by representatives of DPU member countries and more than 20,000 people in Taiwan had signed a petition in the last week to express their support for the people of Myanmar.

She made the remarks at a press conference held to introduce 19 visiting fellows invited by the DPU from Latin America, Asia and Australia.

One of the visiting fellows, Terrance Kennedy Mills, a member of the legislative assembly of Australia's Northern Territories, echoed the DPU's stance on the Myanmar issue, saying that Australia had an obligation to speak out for those who have no voice.

"We represent different countries, and we have different languages, but we have one thing in common, and that is the love for freedom," he said.
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