Taiwan is obligated to reciprocate to the international community and stand with global religious leaders and the pan-democratic camp, Vice President William Lai (賴清德) told the opening ceremony of the Taiwan International Religious Freedom Summit yesterday.
Lai thanked Samuel Brownback, who in February 2020 invited him to attend the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, for allowing him to participate in the international religious summit and roundtable conference.
He said that event had taught him a lot, such as how religious freedom is still severely persecuted in many places.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Taiwan has been through its share of dictatorial oppression, and the liberty and democracy it enjoys is the result of the people bravely standing against such pressure, he said.
Taiwan’s has been ranked 10th in the world and first in Asia in terms of democratic achievements, according to The Economist, while US-based Freedom House has given Taiwan a score of 94 in terms of democracy, placing it only slightly behind Japan and ranking second in Asia, he said.
Taiwan has 100 percent religious freedom, regardless of the institution, he added.
Lai also commented on the venue, the Grand Hotel, which was where the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was founded.
Legislative Yuan Speaker You Si-kun (游錫?) was there on that day, Lai said as You looked on.
As long as there is autocracy, there will be religious persecution, he said.
Like many other emerging countries, Taiwan has been through its share of colonization and oppression, but it has matured into a fully democratic country, touted as the “Beacon of Democracy in Asia,” You said.
Taiwan’s efforts and achievements show that the words of former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀) — who died in 2015 — that “human rights and democracy are Western creations that are unsuitable for Asian nations” were false, You added.
Pew Research Center in 2014 put Taiwan second among 232 countries on its Religion Diversity Index, while Freedom House had the nation 17th on its Freedom Index, he said.
Taiwan’s experience of fighting oppression and autocracy has created a tolerant society that respects cultural diversity, he said.
Religious freedom is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution, and the government fully respects different cultures and beliefs, You added.
“We are proud to say that a church can exist side by side with a mosque, both of which can exist side by side with a traditional Taiwanese temple,” he said.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
RSS