The ambassador of the Republic of China on Taiwan His
Excellency Richard Shih have said that his country will continue to cherish its
diplomatic allies, honor its commitments to them, and expand cooperation with
like-minded countries.
The Taiwanese diplomat made these remarks recently during
celebrations marking Taiwan's
97th national day.According to him, the new administration of Taiwan
has pledged to render the Republic of China on Taiwan
a respectable member of the global village, upholding equality, reciprocity,
good neighbourliness, respect to treaties, advancement of international
justice, and enhancement of world peace as its guiding principles in developing
foreign relations.
On the issue of Democracy, Prosperity, Humanism, Rationalism
and Pluralism, ambassador Shih said thatthe Republic of China on Taiwan
has just had a new government in May 2008. Facing challenges from
globalisation, the new administration has undertaken to better democracy, to
open up and deregulate the economy, to satisfy the basic needs of the
underprivileged, to restore political ethics, to pursue environmental
sustainability, to ensure accountability in governance, and to abide by the
principle of separation of powers, so as to revitalise both public and private
sectors and lift the country up to a higher level of development. To achieve
this goal, Taiwan
has to secure an environment that is conducive to the intended developments
On Win-Win Solution to the Relations between the two sides
of the Taiwan Strait, he said that with a firm belief that the creation
of peaceful relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait would be in
the common interests of both sides and the international community, the new
administration has committed to maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait
under the principle of 'no unification, no independence and no use of force' as
well as under the frame of the ROC Constitution. It also called upon the
authorities of mainland China
to resume, based on '1992 Consensus' - 'One China, Respective Interpretation',
cross-strait negotiations on firstly normalisation of economic and cultural
relations. While emphasising that the cross-strait relations should be based on
security, prosperity and dignity, the new administration has made it very clear
that only when Taiwan
is no longer being isolated in the international arena can cross-strait
relations move forward with confidence.