Association of World Citizens Meets in Taipei

The World Citizens Assembly opened in Taipei on March 30. The five-day event included general conferences and expert panels, as well as cultural performances by the host organization, the Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy. This was one of the few international politically oriented conferences to be held in Taipei in recent years, so it received considerable attention.

President Chen addressed the Assembly on April 1. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait affects the peace, stability, and prosperity of the whole region. Taiwan, he said, is pragmatic about relations between Beijing and Taipei, taking practical steps to promote better cross-strait relations. He urged Beijing to pursue a creative win-win situation based on reciprocity, equality, and friendship. He also declared April 1 to be World Citizens Day.

After Vice-President Annette Lu rang the "Bell of World Peace" as an expression of hope for a more tranquil planet, the Assembly's executive director, Hong Tao-tze, who is also the head of the Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy, formally declared April 1 to be Taiwan World Peace Day, and invited all people in Taiwan to work together for a world without conflict.

The Association of World Citizens is composed entirely of concerned citizens from around the globe. It does not have a formal organization or much funding, yet it is quite influential. The AWC maintains an office in New York where volunteers maintain contact with the Department of Public Information of the UN and with individual countries' UN missions, seeking support from the UN General Assembly or UN-affiliated organizations for its declarations and positions. In his remarks, AWC president Douglas Mattern noted that two resolutions adopted by the AWC and endorsed by 51 Nobel Laureates were accepted by the United Nations Disarmament Agency in 1978 and 1982.

The AWC was founded by Mattern 25 years ago. Inspired by Schweitzer and Einstein, he was dismayed by the destruction of the Vietnam War and the threat of nuclear conflict between the US and USSR. He set out to organize ordinary citizens to persuade governments to renounce war as a means of resolving international disputes and to abandon the so-called "balance of terror" of the arms race.

The AWC believes that all people are citizens of a common human family. Besides seeking disarmament, the group also aims to eliminate poverty. In recent years, as globalization has progressed, the rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten poorer, so the AWC has taken on the responsibility, and duty, of calling on governments and enterprises to use global resources prudently and to devote attention to disparities in wealth.

It is very significant that this Assembly was held in Taipei. The four topics of discussion- the United Nations and civil society, putting an end to war, globalization, and the use of spirituality and technology to create a peaceful world through changing the way people think-are of direct interest to people here. In particular, in discussions on the second topic, it was noted that the UN is devoting increasing attention to the power of civil society, and that it is possible for Taiwan, though not a UN member, to make contributions to global society and win international support.

In addition, Dr. Elaine Valdov, chairperson of the NGO/DPI Executive Committee at the UN, was one of the guests of honor at this conference. On this visit to Taiwan, her first, she said that she was impressed by the vigor, wealth, and liveliness of society. She added that it should be possible for non-governmental organizations in Taiwan to participate in international NGO groupings, and that she would be very happy to serve as a volunteer advisor to people in Taiwan on questions in this area. Early this year, she herself founded an organization concerned with education and welfare for underprivileged children, and hopes that more people will take time to help poor children. Her email address is: evaldov@mindspring.com.

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The 2001 World Citizens Assembly awarded its peace prize to Dr. Elaine Valdov, chairperson of the NGO/DPI Executive Committee at the UN. (photo by Shen Tsu-hsien)