One China

The Honorable Haley Barbour

Governor of Mississippi

Democratic Pacific Union Conference

Taipei, Taiwan

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Distinguished Guests. (Specific VIP recognitions from final attendance list)

It is an honor for me to appear here this afternoon at the meeting of the Democratic

Pacific Union. This is a beneficial initiative for Taiwan and the nations that share the

Pacific Rim, and I congratulate Vice President Annette Liu and her colleagues on moving this idea forward, and into reality. Thank you Madam VP for inviting me to speak. I’m glad ;my trip coincided with this important conference.

This trip is the fourth time I have visited Taiwan and my first since being elected

Governor of Mississippi. I am nearing the conclusion of a 2 ½ week trip through Asia to promote the business and investment opportunities of my home state of Mississippi.

As a former Reagan White House political director, I believe in open markets and free trade, and our state benefits from this policy. We export around the world, and we have benefited for years from foreign direct investment.

Mission

______

Furniture Mfg with PRC, sell to Korea. ______We Governors work hard to generate positive economic develop from international trade, and we our fight to make sure our trading partners and competitors play by the rules.

While my furniture manufacturers didn’t file a trade action against the PRC, they are concerned about protection if their intellectual property rights and want currencies fairly valued, based on the market place. Still our federal government makes those policy calls, not states.

I support the Bush administration on trade and foreign policy. I applaud the enactment of

CAFTA. NAFTA has been good policy, and CAFTA will be, too. Good for our Central

American neighbors and good for the U.S.

President Bush has concluded the best approach to addressing North Korea’s nuclear situation is through the six-party talks. While it will require patience, these six-party discussions are the most likely path to a positive outcome.

The U.S. follows a one China policy, which I support. It is right that the father of

______the cross-straits relationship be determined by negotiations between the leaders on the mainland and the leaders in Taiwan.

Since first visiting Taiwan in 1989 and again in 1995 when I was Chairman of the

Republican National committee I have seen many changes here, and in the Pacific region as a whole. Important among those is the new attention paid to the ideas and practice of democracy throughout the area. When I worked in the White House in the mid-1980’s the future of democracy was very much up in the air. While we hoped democracy would be the wave of the future, we also understood that the foreign, totalitarian ideology of

Soviet communism was arrayed against us. For much of the period of the late 1970’s when that foreign ideology seemed to be winning, there were many in the West who began to question whether democracy and individual liberty could complete with communist pressure.

But there were at least two people, and thank God for both of them, who understood that democracy, freedom and market economies were the unshakable future of the world.

Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, more than any other two leaders of their generation, called the world to the challenge of promoting and defending democracy and freedom. And while many on the left and even the right scoffed at the idea that we should dare to proclaim that our democratic ideal was superior in every way, here we stand 20 years later, in a world increasingly dominated by democratic nations and where the few countries who stand against this ideal find themselves ever more swimming against the tides of history.

What has happened in these twenty years to produce such a dramatic change?

First, as I noted, we had the visionary leadership of President Reagan and Prime Minister

Thatcher, who together formed a partnership – governmental, economic and political – to stand against the forces of totalitarianism. While many claim credit for the wave of freedom that has swept the world and for the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is my view that the process began with the courage and vision of these two heroic leaders, both of whom I had the great pleasure and honor to know personally.

Second, we came to understand that support for Democracy provided a greater moral underpinning for foreign policy. It is important that we continue to press this simple fact:

Democratic nations are more peaceful, more prosperous and more caring of the rights and responsibilities of their own people than are non-democratic nations. Our foreign policies are more sustainable and enjoy broader public support when they are grounded firmly to these principles. President Bush has centered his global foreign policy objectives firmly on the ideals of promoting democracy and freedom in every corner of the world. In his second inaugural address, the President made clear that, “The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all in all the world.”

And we must also understand, and advocate, the universal nature of democracy.

Democracy is not a luxury of the developed Western world – it is a universal value that will express itself differently according to the culture and history of each country. It is wrong, both strategically and morally for anyone to suggest that a specific race, culture, or nation is not ready for the freedoms of self-government. Democracy is vibrant and thriving here on Taiwan with roots in a Confucian cultural tradition.

Thirdly, many of the nations of the world began to equip themselves for the tasks of expanding and promoting democracy. In the United States we created the National Endowment for Democracy and a host of other institutions whose job it was – and is—to assist their counterparts in countries where democracy is at risk, or has not yet taken a firm hold. In the Pacific region we see the growth of similar institutions and of activities where those who enjoy the benefits of freedom can learn to assist those currently struggling for it. The DPU is a wonderful example of this type of cooperation. I note that even the United Nations is now examining ways to become more active in promoting and expanding democracy around the world. In my opinion, this realization comes twenty years too late, but it is welcome nonetheless.

And finally, we have seen the emergence of great, courageous leaders of pro-democracy forces in countries such as Nicaragua, the Philippines, Czechoslovakia the rest of Eastern

Europe, the former states of the Soviet Union, Taiwan, Korea, and countless other places.

These leaders – like Nelson Mandela, Cory Aquino (A-KEY-NO), Vaclav Havel – found themselves the Courage to take heroic stands against oppression at great personal risk, and so inspired a new generation of pro-democracy activists in their own countries and abroad. We know that great moments in history require great leaders, and the times have been fortunate to us by giving us a generation of democratic heroes who were able to seize the moment to bring freedom to their countries.

I always look forward to visiting Taiwan, because Taiwan is one of the great democratic success stories not only in Asia but around the world. President Reagan and all of his successors, including President Bush, have supported Taiwan as a democratic ally and close friend of the United States. This bond is deepened by our shared commitment to democracy and the rule of law. My own view is that Taiwan is a model, an example to all undergoing democratic transitions.

Taiwan is also a world-class economic power. This is testimony to the industry of

Taiwan’s people, and the vision of Taiwan’s leaders. Taiwan’s economy has evolved in the past fifty years from agriculture, to exports of labor-intensive goods, to information technology, and toward knowledge-based industries. Taiwan is America’s eighth largest trading partner, among the top 20 global economies, and the third-largest holder of foreign currency reserves.

There should be no question: Taiwan is a dynamic democracy and a global economic power, with an amazing story, and it can play an even great role in world affairs as a proponent of democratic values and institutions and free trade, in Asia and around the world.

I lend my voice to President Bush’s steadfast support for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations’ at a minimum, as an observer to the World Health

Organization. This is consistent with our China policy, and we should think of ways to do even more.

Taiwan cannot be considered in isolation of what is happening in China, and in Cross-

Strait relations. Many believe the single greatest foreign policy challenge for the United

States will be managing the rise of Chinese power. President Bush and his foreign policy team led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice understand this and have developed a strategy that recognizes that while the rise of China as a global power is inevitable, and can be beneficial to the US and the world, we should try to influence that rise in a positive direction. In May of this year, speaking to the Commonwealth club in San

Francisco Secretary Rice precisely stated the nature of the opportunity before us when she noted that, “The rise of China will certainly help to shape the future of Asia but the democratic character of Asia will also shape the rise of China.”

The United States has a vital national interest that China’s rise be peaceful. In the United

States, just before I left on this trip, the US Department of Defense issued its annual report on Chinese Military Power. In its opening passage, the report makes clear that

China is approaching a strategic crossroads. As it expands its military capabilities beyond its traditional defensive needs, the intentions and directions of China’s strategic aims bear close scrutiny.

My hope is that Taiwan and China will share a peaceful and hopefully democratic future.

That is the intention of U.S. policy, which should not be considered in “zero-sum” terms.

I applaud Taiwan’s steps to expand its trade relations and people-to-people contacts with

China. China is Taiwan’s number one trading partner. I am one of those old-fashioned

Republicans who believe that the growth of trade and business, and the resulting relationships that develop, can contribute toward political and economic reform in every society and economy. It has worked elsewhere in the world and I see no reason why it cannot work in China as well. Taiwan’t economic policies are helping to build a more peaceful and prosperous region. Some bay be concerned that Taiwan could become too dependent on China, but if managed correctly, the growth of Taiwan-PRC relations can be a great benefit to Taiwan, to China, and to the global economy.

There can be no question that the growth of democracy in the Pacific region will occur in the lengthening shadow of growing Chinese influence. But it is also true that increasing

Chinese influence will take place in the growing sunlight of a more democratic Pacific region. The task for the US, Taiwan, and all the nations represented here is to find new ways to exert our influence, to strengthen the global economy and expand the reach of democracy and to ultimately convince the non-democratic states of the region of the enormous benefits of representative government and political freedom. The fall of the

Soviet empire has taught us that momentous political change can come both quickly and peacefully.

Organizations such as the Democratic Pacific Union, which bring together leaders and practitioners of democracy, can help to improve the odds that political change in this region will follow the course that the rest of the world is taking.

Thank you for asking me to join you today, and good luck and Godspeed in your deliberations.