Today marks the 95th National Day of the Republic of China (Taiwan). With reverent yet joyous hearts, we are gathered here to welcome and celebrate this glorious day and to wish our nation a happy birthday.
In the past few months, I have had opportunities to pay visits to local communities in order to come into direct, intimate contact with this land, and to listen to people's truest voice. Whether it was having a friendly chat with elderly farmers out in the fields or under a tree, or showing my concern for elderly people and children living on offshore islands or in remote villages without families to care for them, or engaging in discussions with small and medium-sized business operators in industrial zones, I have learned that, although the issues they were concerned about may have differed, they were of one heart in wishing the best for Taiwan. They wished Taiwan the best not only with respect to furthering its presently enjoyed freedom, democracy, peace and prosperity, but also with regard to safeguarding the right of its 23 million people to be the masters of their own destiny.
According to the Freedom in the World 2006 report recently published by Freedom House, in the two main categories of political rights and civil liberties, Taiwan is a "free" country on a par with the United States and Japan, and in the subcategory of freedom of speech and religion, Taiwan received the highest possible score. This great honor is the result of the long-term striving and struggling of Taiwan's people, and is the most precious asset Taiwan has for asserting its place in the international community.
Under the authoritarian system of the past, not only were the people deprived of freedom of speech, but freedom of the press was also subjected to tight control and oppression. During the three years following the lifting of martial law, from 1988 to 1990, the number of politically related magazines and books that were banned and confiscated came to 284,243 copies. During the martial law era, the number of publications banned and confiscated by the Taiwan Garrison Command of course exceeded this amount by many hundreds of times.
This government, therefore, has always striven to maintain an ever-forbearing attitude with respect to the freedoms of speech, the press, publication and assembly in hopes of liberating Taiwan's people from the spiritual shackles that have bound them. The government has done so not only to enable the people to dare to speak, but to ensure the protection of every person's right to truly speak his or her mind and express views different from those of others.
In the past, there was no freedom, so we struggled to get freedom. In the past, we were oppressed by the political system, so we opposed the system. But today's Taiwan is a democratic nation. Besides seeking freedom, we must also consolidate the rule of law, accept the responsibilities associated with that, and work together to sustain our system of democratic, constitutional government. Political disagreements or disputes should be handled in accordance with constitutional procedures and the provisions of laws. In cases that involve judicial action, the judiciary's independence in conducting investigations and trials must be respected. This is both a basic tenet of democracy as well as its core value.
While others may advocate resorting to mechanisms that circumvent the political system or transcend the Constitution in order to further their political goals, the president is bound by his office to uphold the Constitution. Defending the constitutional system and maintaining the stability of the nation and society are duties that the president cannot shirk. They are also the strictest demands placed upon him by the people.
As Taiwan marches toward becoming a normal democratic country, we cannot neglect or try to escape the need to re-evaluate our past history. Whether with respect to assigning responsibility for harm caused during the authoritarian era, continuing to dismantle the party-state system, enhancing the quality of the multiparty political system or rehabilitating the legitimacy and reasonability of the constitutional system, our society needs to undertake deeper reflection on and assessment of these issues. By no means is this an attempt to settle old scores or stir up hatred. Only by bravely facing up to the past will we truly be able to soothe our injuries, bridge the rifts between us, and mark past episodes with a decisive period, so that we can begin to write a new chapter.
While divergent views of national identity can co-exist, the nation must not be allowed to break apart. Regardless of whether one arrived, or one's ancestors arrived, in Taiwan before or after 1949, and regardless of whether one is a recent immigrant or child of a recent immigrant, everyone who has come to this land to start a new life is a member of our big family, even though we may have differing ideals or sentiments for our original homelands. As the children of an oceanic nation, let us open our hearts to each other, put ourselves in each other's shoes and support each other. Let us transform identities based on ethnicity, bloodline, and historical sentiment into an identity based on the universal values of freedom, democracy, human rights and peace. And let us thereby mold a new sense of national community that can be shared by the 23 million people of Taiwan.
As an oceanic, island nation, Taiwan's potential for national development can be cultivated only through external economic and trade links and international cooperation. Sound self-defense capabilities, a stable international environment, and peace in the Taiwan Strait are the essential foundations on which Taiwan will be able to ensure its survival and steadily pursue its development.
There has been no large-scale military conflict in the Taiwan Strait for almost 50 years now. The all-important turning point was Taiwan's victory in the 1958 Battle of the Taiwan Strait, which allowed Taiwan to fend off danger, ensure peace, and lay the foundation for its future survival and development. We must never forget that bloody lesson: A robust national defense capability is our only shield and our only assurance of securing lasting peace.
Until this very day, however, China has never renounced its objective of annexing Taiwan by force. In recent years, it has ceaselessly deployed ballistic missiles along its southeast coast targeted at Taiwan. There are more than 800 such missiles at present, which is four times the number in 2000. China also continues to augment training and preparations to launch a war against Taiwan, scheming to utilize military intimidation and threats to achieve its goal of forcing Taiwan to surrender without having to fire a shot.
Here, once again, I earnestly call upon the opposition parties to expedite and complete their reviews of all major military procurement bills so that the nation's armed forces can finish upgrading their armaments and enhance their combat preparedness as soon as possible. Moreover, only by doing so will we have the substantive power and bargaining chips needed to engage in consultations and dialogues with China. Our investment in national defense is intended neither to spark an arms race with China nor to aggravate cross-strait tensions. Rather, it is an investment in peace, security, and stability. Only by possessing a strong self-defense capability can the outbreak of war effectively be prevented and lasting peace in the Taiwan Strait be achieved.
In recent years, China has continually resorted to dollar diplomacy and money politics to squeeze and limit Taiwan's international space. In face of this new challenge and condition, Taiwan is not willing, nor has it the need, to engage in a foreign-aid contest. We need new ideas and approaches, and must make democracy, human rights, and humanitarian concerns the basis of our future diplomatic efforts. In addition to consolidating our diplomatic allies, we should take further steps to establish a values-based alliance with the global community of democracies. Further, we should utilize multilateral cooperation mechanisms, such as summits with the leaders of our diplomatic allies in Latin America, Oceania and Africa, as well as through the Democratic Pacific Union to deepen Taiwan's bilateral relations with each of its allies. Programs designed to promote mutually profitable trade and enhance humanitarian assistance can also help us succeed in creating reciprocal regional advantages and shared prosperity. Thereby, Taiwan will be able to play a more positive, constructive role in the international community, and to open up new diplomatic vistas more energetically.
As to the development of cross-strait relations, this surely cannot be confined to the mere interactions within the narrow framework of Taiwan-China relations. We must broaden our scope of action and expand our field of vision to the comprehensive level of the evolution of international political and economic dynamics.
Following upon the success of its policy of economic reform and opening up to the outside world, China's overall national power, especially its military power, has grown rapidly, giving rise to widespread misgivings in the international community. Although Beijing has repeatedly claimed that this process is a "peaceful emergence," most nations of the world perceive it as a threat.
Without democracy, there is hardly any prospect of peace. China is a totalitarian state that persists in its hostility toward freedom, democracy and human rights. As long as China fails to democratize, the basic nature of this threat will never change, and relations between China and the world, including Taiwan, cannot possibly be normalized.
No matter how lively the economic and trade relations and the movements of peoples are between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, as long as China continues to be ruled by a one-party dictatorship, the obstacles and barriers standing between the two sides can never be eliminated, and it will be extremely difficult to achieve any genuine, significant breakthrough in the basic nature of cross-strait relations. Constructing a meaningful, substantive relationship will be possible only if China's leaders adopt the universal values of freedom, democracy, human rights and peace to create a language shared by both sides of the strait and, based on this language, cooperate in developing a framework of interaction for peace and stability.
In closing, let me wish the Republic of China (Taiwan) a happy birthday. May our great nation enjoy peace and everlasting prosperity. To all of our distinguished guests, fellow citizens, and colleagues, may you enjoy good health and success in all of your endeavors. And may God bless Taiwan.