呂秀蓮的部落格

 前副總統呂秀蓮辦公室新聞稿

09.26.2014

針對美國總統歐巴馬昨天宣布將太平洋中部地區面積49萬平方英里的海域設立海洋保護區，全面禁止在保護區內鑽油及從事漁業活動，以保護脆弱的海洋生物，長期主張釣魚台成為海洋保護區的前副總統呂秀蓮倍感興奮，認為「德不孤，必有鄰」。

呂副總統的「釣魚台海洋保育區」主張，近年來曾在馬尼拉及首爾的國際和平會議中倡言，也在美國許多名校演講，獲得與會者熱烈迴響，甚至哈佛大學 Joseph Nye 教授及澳洲前總理陸克文也在今年4月共同撰文投書「華盛頓郵報」，贊同此一理念。她的主要主張包括：

1. 1.    各國對釣魚台主權的爭議應予擱置。
2. 2.    釣魚台周遭12海里非核、非武。
3. 3.    各利害相關國家應共同維護釣魚台海域，使成為國際海洋保育區。

呂秀蓮認為歐巴馬的此項宣布，將提醒世人省思過度開發對地球生態的摧殘與世代正義的踐踏。既然美國已注意到太平洋中部海域的永續發展問題，美國何不將此一理念也分享中國和日本，要求他們放棄或擱置對東海和南海諸島爭議的主張，大家偃兵息鼓，共謀海洋的永續發展與區域和平？

Press Release

Former Vice President Lu Hsiu-lien Annette’s Office

09.26.2014

U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Thursday to use his presidential powers to create the world’s largest marine reserve in the Pacific. It will ban commercial fishing and deep sea mining in about 490,000 square miles around remote tropical atolls and islands in the south-central Pacific Ocean. Former Vice President Hsiu-lien Lu of Taiwan, who has advocated the preservation of the Diaoyutai/Senkaku Islands as a marine protection zone, is excited and considers it the practice of the old saying 'Virtue never stands alone. It is bound to have neighbors.'

Lu has advocated the idea of ‘Marine Conservation Zone’ in the Diaoyutai/Senkaku Islands area at various international events, including international peace conferences in Manila and Seoul, and talked at several prestigious universities in the U.S. Her claim was applauded and has received a sizeable response. Even Professor Joseph Nye of Harvard University and Australia’s former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd co-authored an article in The Washington Post in April to echo her claim. Lu’s main points include:

• No territorial sovereignty claims shall be allowed to undermine the stability and peace in the area.
• All armed forces withdraw from 12 nautical miles of the islets so as to restore peace in the area.
• Military and nuclear activities that might threaten peace and stability are not allowed to be conducted in the area.
• Preserve the Diaoyutais as an international marine conservation zone exclusively for peaceful purposes, making it a no-flying, no-fishing, and no-navigation zone within a certain limited area.

Lu believes that President Obama’s announcement will remind the world to reflect on how overdevelopment has destroyed the echo-environment and trampled on intergenerational justice. Since the U.S. has paid certain attention to the sustainable development issue in the Pacific, Lu urges that the U.S. share this idea with China and Japan, persuading them to give up or shelve claims over the sovereignty of certain islands in the East China Sea and South China Sea, and enhancing sustainable development and regional peace together.