The government-funded Taiwan Democracy Foundation was formally inaugurated yesterday as part of efforts to help consolidate the nation's democracy and link with other like-minded organizations to foster democracy elsewhere, organizers said.
After the first meeting of the foundation's board of directors and supervisors in the afternoon, organizers held a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to announce that the foundation's operations had started.
"Over 50 percent of countries have yet to implement a democratic system. The foundation is more than willing to offer our experience and aid to these countries and regions," said Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), also the foundation's chairman.
According to the foundation's charter, the organization will channel one third of its funds to subsidizing political parties in Taiwan, while the rest will be spent on networking and cooperation with like-minded groups overseas.
The foundation also plans to produce an annual report, an academic journal as well as host seminars to probe various aspects of democratic consolidation, Wang said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) was picked by board members as Wang's deputy, while Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (高英茂) will act as the foundation's chief executive, Wang said.
Wang lauded Kau as the brains behind the foundation, adding that Kau's role as the chief executive will facilitate the organization's operations.
"It'll be good for our country to have the deputy foreign minister to act as the chief executive of the foundation as it can link the organization's operations with the country's various diplomatic objectives," Wang said.
Kau said Taiwan is ahead of its Asian counterparts in setting up a democracy foundation. Japan is still trying to establish a similar organization, he said.
The legislature has approved NT$150 million for the establishment of the group as part of the foreign ministry's budget for this fiscal year.
Among the 15 members of the board, three are government representatives, including Wang, Chien as well as Presidential Office Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁).
Eight of the board members were recommended by various political parties including three seats from the DPP, two seats from the KMT, two seats from the PFP and one from the TSU, organizers said.
KMT Vice Chairman Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), who also chairs the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, is the only representative from academia on the board.
The business community is represented by two board members -- Henry Kao (
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