呂秀蓮的部落格

Opening Address for Global Women’s Peace Network

Peace Initiative for Marine Disputes

H.E. Lu Hsiu-lien Annette

Vice President of Taiwan 2000-2008

Manila, Philippines

January 11, 2013

President Lan Young Moon, Vice President Lily Lin, Dr. Chung Sik Yong, President Minerva DeLeon, members of WFWP, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening!

It is a great pleasure to attend the conference hosted by the Universal Peace Federation in the great city of Manila and to celebrate the inaugural convocation of the Global Women’s Peace Network – Asia Assembly, a result coming from the 20^th Anniversary of WFWP held in Korea last year. On that occasion, I was honored to deliver a keynote speech and to be granted the Women World Peace Award.

The WFWP was founded in April of 1992 by Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Madame Hak Ja Han Moon, and led by President Lan Young Moon. In the past 20 years, the world has gone through conflicts and wars, financial tsunamis and natural tsunamis. Women, as a half of the population suffered no less than men, and worked even harder than men. The operation of the WFWP with diverse humanitarian projects and activities has been instrumental to encourage women to overcome all the difficulties.

Today we are here to commemorate Rev. Moon’s spirit and vision for world peace. Peace has always been a dream for everyone, men and women as well. But the fact is that, throughout the entire human history, there were at least 14,500 major wars and regretfully, 99.9% of these wars were initiated by men, and yet 100% of victims were women and their beloved husbands and children. Why so? Why wouldn’t men allow women to decide whether there is a true need for a war? Why can’t women be empowered to maintain peace and to prevent war from happening?

We have all seen movies and television series in which men are depicted as heroes, fighting each other for whatsoever reason, often with brutality and large-scale casualties. Are they truly brave? Courage without wisdom and mercy is stupid and cowardly. Why are women always silent about what they feel and believe, good or bad, right or wrong? Why throughout the millennium of human history are there only “his stories” and not “her stories”?

In fact, our conference host, the Philippines has been ruled by 2 female presidents and Korea is ready to welcome its first female President Park Geun-hye to lead the nation. We have reason to expect a new future, for Korea as well as for Asia.

We should not forget that women are the descendent of Eve and that women constitute half of the world’s population. Without Eve, there wouldn’t be children. Without women there wouldn’t be lives.

Reflecting over the history of late 19^th century in Northeast Asia, coincidentally China, Korea and Japan each had a woman with her unique status to play a unique and critical role for her own country. While Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi was a conservative, Japan’s Atsuhime appeared to be considerably liberated. It was obvious that Dowager Cixi’s conservatism resulted in the lagging of China for modernization. By contrast, Atsuhime’s liberalism was helpful for Japan’s emancipation. However, the tragic destiny of Korean Queen Myeongseong reflects the struggle of woman for herself and her motherland Korea.

In modern Asia, a number of countries including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand have had female heads of state. And in Taiwan, I’m the first woman and the only 2-term Vice President. Up till today, with the exception of me, those Asian female national leaders all came from prestigious political families, either their father or their husband or brother was powerful political figures. Some of them in fact were political widows, and such widow politics has been a unique phenomenon in Asia. But from a Feminist’s point of view, a Feminist politician shall stand up on her own, not on her family tie; shall fight for the people, not for her family or herself.

On 12 July last year, Rev. Moon inaugurated the Global Women’s Peace Network and addressed that the GWPN must work with women leaders and NGOs from all parts of the world. He even expected that it should go beyond the level of a woman’s NGO and bring together governments, organizations and individuals, to forge a unified international effort.

It reminds me of my previous efforts to enhance the paradigm of soft power for the betterment of the Pacific. On 14 August 2005, the 60^th anniversary of the end of World War II, I founded the Democratic Pacific Union (DPU) with a purpose to promote democracy, peace and prosperity in the Pacific region. It was a fruit of the 2001 Global Peace Assembly with participation of 6 Nobel Peace Laureates and many prominent world leaders hosted by me in Taipei.

My motivation to establish the DPU was based on my concern that conflicts and disputes over the ocean would be especially serious in the Pacific region and would become big challenges to global peace in the near future. Unfortunately my concern has been proven to be true. Covering one-third of the earth’s surface, being the home to 40% of the world’s population and 30 countries and having more than half of the world’s economy, the Pacific Ocean is considered to be “new high ground” in the 21^st century. The security, stability, and prosperity of the Pacific region are the key to the entire world.

The DPU embraces 3 values: democracy, peace, and prosperity. History teaches us that, without democracy, there can be no peace, and without democracy and peace, there can be no genuine prosperity. To sum it up, we advocate the philosophy of “soft power” instead of hard power to maintain peace and substantial development for the Pacific.

Like Korea and the Philippines, Taiwan has learned to project soft power, namely, democracy, human rights, love, peace and technological innovation. These values facilitate Taiwan’s transformation from a small, poor country under an authoritarian regime into a highly developed country with most advanced high-technology and democracy.

Soft power is constructive and generous in nature. It attracts others into partnership and cooperative relations. The struggle for hard power is often a zero-or even negative-sum game (as in the case of wars), while the developmental and sharing nature of soft power is always a positive-sum game. Hard power should no longer be the sole measurement of a country’s strength, and soft power will play a more important role in the human future.

Let’s apply the paradigm of soft power to deal with the contemporary marine disputes both in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

Japan, China, Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam all claim their sovereignty and marine interests over a certain islets around our neighboring vicinity. The main factor contributory to the potential confrontation and threat to peace, according to my perception, is the implementation of the 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which was proclaimed by the 1982 UN International Convention on the Law of the Sea. Every country desires to expand its continental shelf and economic marine zone. They overlap with each other and confront with each other. It’s unbelievable that UN declare peace as one of the fundamental human rights at one hand and adopt a law that inevitably breaks the peace and stability on the other! If all the countries related insisted their absolute sovereignty and deny others’, a war would be inevitable.

But history has taught us that it’s easier to trigger a war than to stop it, and that once a war is declared, problems after problems occur. War can never solve problems. Regretfully, never can people take true lessons.

For instance, World War II involved all major countries in the world spanning in three continents and three oceans for six years. A total of 84 countries and 2 billion people were involved in war effort and caused 12 million military deaths, 45 million civilian deaths, and untold number of the wounded. Of the total casualties, 35 million were in the Pacific theater. Property damages resulting from the war were estimated to be $400 billion.

Was this tragic lesson seriously taken? Can’t we learn from the wisdom of soft power? Yes, we can!

On 1 December 1959, 12 nations signed The Antarctic Treaty to protect Antarctica.  The treaty, entering into force in 1961 and currently having 50 signatory nations, sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, establishes freedom of scientific investigation and bans military activity on that continent. Article 4 of the Treaty reads: “the treaty does not recognize, dispute, nor establish territorial sovereignty claims; no new claims shall be asserted while the treaty is in force.” Article 11 reads: “all disputes to be settled peacefully by the parties concerned or, ultimately, by the International Court of Justice.”

The main objective of the Treaty is to ensure the interests of all humankind that Antarctica shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international disorder. The Treaty forbids any measures of military nature. For over 50 years the paradigm of soft power has been proven to be a success in Antarctica.

Taking the case of Diaoyutai/Senkaku Islands as an example, I would like to take this opportunity to propose an initiative to solve the problem and invite your support. Despite that the Diaoyutai islands geologically are the natural prolongation of Taiwan and historically an inherited territory of Taiwan, I would like to initiate on the basis of the Antarctic Treaty that the Diaoyutais be demilitarized and a marine conservation zone be developed as the following:

1. 1.         All armed forces withdraw from 12 nautical miles of the islets so as to restore peace in this area.
2. 2.         No territorial sovereignty claims should be allowed to undermine the status quo and stability of this area.
3. 3.         No military or nuclear activities are allowed to be conducted in this area.
4. 4.         Develop the Diaoyutais as an international marine conservation zone through cooperation of the UN, Japan, China, and Taiwan. The development shall be exclusively for peaceful purposes.

I firmly believe that this initiative is the best and only way to ease the tensions and to avoid a potential outburst of a military conflict with nuclear threat in the East China Sea. It’s also instrumental for the settlement in the South China Sea.

For the sake of world peace, of regional stability and prosperity, and moreover, of the substantial development of the Pacific Ocean, my dear sisters and brothers from the Universal Peace Federation, please join me to launch this campaign to assure the permanent peace for the Pacific! May this peace initiative enlighten the Global Women’s Peace Network!

Thank you!