The Present Political and Social Development of the Republic of ChinaAnd Its Significance

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I would like today to share with you my views regarding the present political and social development of the Republic of China and its significance. I respectfully invite your comments and suggestions.

The first issue I would like to address is why the Republic of China on Taiwan wants to implement full political democratization.

Our movement toward full constitutional democracy is the established policy of our nation. However, the scope and speed of this process, or how to carry it out, are issues that merit closer examination. My personal feeling is that two significant considerations have prompted us to adopt this policy.

First, full constitutional democratization is in accord with our current and long-term national interests. In terms of the overall development of the whole country, the lessons and experience we have accumulated in the past 40 years on Taiwan can be divided into three phases.

Economic development, that is, the world-acclaimed "economic miracle," was the index and accomplishment of the first phase, which began in the 1950s and extended through the 1970s. The second phase began in the 1980s, when we built on the achievements of our economic development to accelerate our march towards political democratization. The third phase began in the late 1980s and will last into the 21st century. I believe that the Republic of China must steadily move from a country whose development is based on economics and politics in the direction of becoming a great country of culture. This is because it is no longer enough just to be an economic entity whose people have enough to eat and wear; this would still leave us some-what behind the advanced countries of the world. And in the area of political democratization, even if we achieve a levelwhere we compare favorably with advanced countries such as the United States and European nations, we are merely "trying hard to catch up." Thus the significance of the third phase of our country's development--moving in the direction of becoming a great country of culture--is profound.

In the long run, if the three words "Republic of China" are no more than a geographical designation, or refer just to one of the 170-some nations of the world, then they have no exceptional significance. However, if we place an equal sign between this national designation and "Chinese culture," then we can become the inheritors and promoters of one of the four great civilizations of the world, and at once our role switches from a peripheral to a central one. The significance of our national survival will then take on unparalleled and far-reaching new meaning.

Therefore, in order to move as soon as we can into the third phase--the cultural phase-- of nation building, at the present time we have to complete our second phase of development, which is political democratization.

Second, our present move toward full democratization will win us international respect and support. I believe that the existence of the Republic of China on Taiwan hinges on our winning the understanding and support of the international community. Not only does our foreign trade depend on international cooperation; our national security, too, requires the understanding and support of the international community.

The United States broke off official diplomatic relations with our country in 1979, and the "Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty" was abrogated at the end of 1980. This is a particularly vivid example of just how unreliable official diplomatic relations between nations can be. However, although formal diplomatic ties have been severed between the United States and our country during the last ten years, substantive relations have not only been maintained, but enhanced immeasurably. This is mainly due to interests shared by the two nations, along with broad support from the American and Chinese people.

Our country's relations with other countries in the world besides the United States have seen similar developments. Relations with your country are one such example. I personally believe that the degree of support we receive from all other countries is influenced not only by economic or trade capacity, but is also greatly related to our level of democratization. Today, a great many countries not only admire our economic achievements, they also appreciate our political system even more, and no longer view us as having an authoritarian political culture, but rather as being a political entity on the threshold of becoming a full democracy.

This will contribute immensely to the development of future relations between foreign countries and the ROC, and winning the friendship and support of the international community. For this reason, there will be absolutely no change in the ROC's established policy of moving towards full democracy.

The second issue I would like to discuss is whether the recent political and social turbulence in the Republic of China is "labor pains" or a "hidden worry." Since the lifting of the Emergency Decree last July, the society of the ROC, in the face of new domestic and foreign circumstances, encountered such unrest as street demonstrations and marches. Is this unrest temporary "labor pains" or a long-term "hidden worry"?

For the following reasons, my own view on this issue is that it is a temporary period of "labor pains."

First, we have already made the transition to being a pluralistic society. The emergence of environmental awareness, the elevation in the status of women, the struggle for greater rights by labor and agriculture, and the proliferation of the media have taken society by storm. There is inevitable debate and competition in this kind of a pluralistic society. However, there is a common denominator to be found: no single sector of class can monopolize our political, social, or cultural resources. Politics is an "art of compromise"; and although the result of this compromise is not always perfect, it is one that everyone can accept. In this kind of process, no one group can monopolize power. So for this reason, even though society may experience a short period of turbulence, it will not lead to autocratic or arbitrary rule.

Second, we are currently a "post-industrial society." And the medium for change in values of a "post-industrial" society is reform, not revolution. This is so because, as our per capita income reaches US$6,000, the thing that most people hope for is the ability to maintain and enjoy the fruits of their own labors. Another characteristic of a "post-industrial society" is that the people own property. People with property also have perseverance, in stark contrast to a poor and destitute society where one has nothing to lose. Therefore, anyone wanting to go the way of revolution, or of revolution "outside the system," could never be accepted by the majority.

Third, we still have a strong sense of an ever-present danger. This does not mean that everyone is undergoing self-imposed hardship so as to strengthen themselves, or is ready for battle. But most people still have a deep concern about the policies and moves coming from the other side of the Taiwan Strait. Having a sense of crisis, most people understand that they cannot act without restraints of any kind. Therefore, large-scale unrest cannot occur.

Fourth is the influence of the trend of international progress. The Republic of China is today an open society and one link in the international economy; our island economy beats with the pulse of the world economy. In addition, people studying, visiting, and touring in other countries, and cultural exchanges, have all helped establish a general opinion and consensus on international trends of freedom, democracy, openness, and pluralistic values, and incorporated them into the very heart of our identity. So, no narrow, extremist, or parochial stand or ideology is able to monopolize our society. Everybody would feel that this kind of thinking runs counter to international trends or the thinking of the international community. So the series of reforms that we have implemented in recent years is on the one hand our own initiative, but on the other, it is a response to interna tional opinion and trends.

Fifth is the vigorous innovations implemented by the government and the ruling party, the Kuomintang. These innovations attest to the government's and the ruling party's resolution to keep pace with the trends of the times. From the lifting of the Emergency Decree and relaxing of restrictions on foreign exchange in July 1987, and the opening up of travel by Taiwan residents to visit relatives in mainland China in November of 1987, to the lifting of restrictions on new newspaper registrations in January this year, the smooth transition of political power after the passing of the late President Chiang Ching-kuo, the participation of the ROC in the April 1988 Asian Development Bank Conference under a flexible diplomatic policy, and the resolutions further opening up contacts with mainland China passed by the Kuomintang at their 13th National Congress last July, the political and economic innovations implemented in this past year and a half are in full view of the whole world, and have won the hearts of Chinese at home and across the globe. No extremist or opposition force can deny these achievements.

To summarize, the five preceding factors affirm that the turbulence experienced in our society over the past year and a half is only momentary "labor pains," and is not cause for long-term concern.

Ladies and gentlemen, above I have given you a rough sketch of the present-day situation of my country. As a country still developing, we certainly have a long way to go; but we are determined to become a developed nation, in every sense of the word or phrase, by the year 2000. Along the way, we need the friendship and support of other freedom-loving nations of the world, including yours. In return, we are willing to share our experience and even our financial reserves with those who are our friends. It was for this purpose that we recently established the Overseas Economic Cooperation and Development Fund. This fund, which has a budget of US$1 billion, will be used to help those friendly developing nations that are under- taking worthy economic development projects.

Ladies and gentlemen, our two nations have had a long and lasting friendship and mutual support has been given for many years. The government and people of the Republic of China are deeply appreciative of this relationship. Let us look forward to seeing a better and even closer relationship develop as the years go by.

Thank you.

Editor's note: The above is the complete text of an address made by Shaw Yu-ming, Direcror-General of the Government Information Office, to a luncheon meeting sponsored by the Santo Thomas University, De La Salle University and the Pacific Economic and Cultural Center in Manila, the Philippines, December 9, 1988.