A 90-member delegation of international peace advocates led by Vice President Annette Lu (
Accompanied by local government officials, the group of peace advocates, including heads of international non-governmental organizations and legislators from Holland, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines, toured underground combat tunnels and the cavernous Atlas Dome, which was entirely carved out of granite by 1,000 soldiers in 1963 and can serve as an emergency medical center in times of conflict.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Lu said at a lunch banquet welcoming her and the foreign guests that her present visit -- her third to Kinmen since she became vice president last May -- is the most significant so far because of the peace advocates accompanying her to the heavily garrisoned island.
She added her hope that her guests would exchange views on how to bring peace to the Taiwan Strait when they take up the series of activities involved with the 2001 Global Peace Assembly.
Thanking the soldiers and local military commanders for protecting the nation, she said that peace for many people is just a slogan, but for the servicemen and women in Kinmen, it is a matter of life and death and a sacred mission.
Noting that she is confident that the "bell of peace" will in the near future be heard around the world, including Kinmen, she said that she hopes Kinmen will -- under government leadership and with the contribution Kinmen's people -- become a "bridge of peace" between Taiwan and China.
Arias, president of Costa Rica from 1986-1990 and who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987, said at the banquet that "peace is necessary," and that in a civilized world, no one should resort to the use of military force to settle conflicts.
He said that in a rational world, conflicts would be resolved at the negotiating table, adding that the same is true for the situation in the Taiwan Strait, so that Taiwan's youth can live in a "new century of peace."
"Dialogue produces miracles," Arias said, explaining that "you need to look in the face and the eyes of the other party and for that, you need to sit around a negotiating table. And if the other party doesn't want to take part in dialogue, be humble, invite it to dialogue, and if it refuses, invite it again."
The essence of dialogue is compromise, he added.
He called for a closer look at the real dangers to world peace -- poverty, illiteracy and environmental degradation -- instead of starting a new arms race.
"How can we live in peace in the future if half of the world population lives in poverty, if people don't have access to potable water, if most of the people in the world are illiterate?" he asked.
A two-day "World Peace Forum" is scheduled to kick off today, with the theme of "Creating Eternal Peace in the Taiwan Strait." Former Taiwan president Lee Teng-hui is slated to speak at the forum's opening ceremony.
An outdoor concert titled "A Night of World Peace" will be held tonight at Taipei's Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, where Lu and the Nobel laureates who were invited to participate in the series of events will jointly inaugurate a "Terrestrial Globe of Peace" in commemoration of the end of World War II some 56 years ago.
The Nobel Peace Prize winners invited to attend the event include Arias; former Polish president Lech Walesa; former South African president Frederick W. de Klerk; Jody Williams, a US anti-land mine activist; and Joseph Rotblat, a British nuclear scientist who advocates the elimination of nuclear arms around the world.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS