Presidents Of The Republic Of China On Taiwan

"Asia is an issue for the world. The issue with Asia is China. China’s problem is the existence of the Chinese Communist Party, which is a snake that has turned its back on the wishes of the Chinese people and causes pain for the rest of the world."

"Dear fellow countrymen: Our beautiful land is still stained with blood by the Communists, and the turbulent Yangtze and Yellow Rivers still flow day and night toward the vast seas in the east. Like the continuing flow of the Yangtze, our goal of anti-Communism and for national recovery will never change. The "helm of history," so crucial to the destiny of our people, is in our hands."

"As long as we can uphold democracy, remain firm on the side of the free world, work hard for self-reliance without laxity, unite as one, and take the implementation and glorification of the Three Principles of the People as our personal responsibility, we are sure to succeed in laying a firm foundation for national renaissance and win the great undertaking of resisting Communism and national recovery."

"The seventies of the Republic of China is an era of crucial test to see whether we are up to this historic task. All Chinese must treat one another with love and sincerity, unite as one for the common cause, and march forward courageously and hand in hand on the avenue of victory in carrying out this sacred task."

"Facts are more eloquent than words. The certainty of the reign of the Three Principles of the People was affirmed long ago by the contrast between the political stability, economic prosperity, social harmony, and educational popularization evidenced in the free area of China and the totalitarian dictatorship, impoverished life, bleak backwardness, and widespread uncertainty found on the Chinese mainland. The unanimous aspirations of the Chinese across the world today are to remove Communist evils from Chinese soil, to save the people on the mainland from the deep waters, and to restore to the Chinese mainland the benevolent rule of the Three Principles of the People at an early date. This historic task lies squarely on the shoulders of every Chinese living in freedom."

"In this historic course, the Chinese Communists staged a nationwide insurgency, resulting in the fall of the mainland into Communist hands. The Communist rule of the last more than 30 years has brought a catastrophe to the Chinese people and has testified to the fiasco of the Communist system. Although the Chinese Communists are plagued by ideological contradictions, political corruption, economic destitution and military disintegration, their power struggle has never stopped. As long as this tyrannical Communist rule is allowed to go on, millions upon millions of our compatriots on the mainland will remain in the crucible of poverty and darkness."

"During the last 69 years, the Republic of China has lived in suspense, shocks, disturbances and uncertainty. The people have endured various ordeals and suffered from all sorts of humiliations in their struggle for national independence, freedom, prosperity and happiness. They have sweated themselves and shed their blood heroically. They have never shown the white feather under any challenge, surrendered to any force, or bowed to any enemy. This immortal record registered by the Republic of China in modern history for national independence, freedom and equality will shine eternally in the world."

"At this moment, every one of us greets the new era with matchless excitement, joy, optimism and hope. And all of us are convinced that the seventies of the Republic is bound to be an era for the reign of the Three Principles of the People and the recovery of the Chinese mainland."

"'To the Communists, peace talks are another form of warfare. Although the two look different, the aim is identical."

"To talk peace with the Chinese Communists is to invite death. This is an agonizing, bloodstained lesson that we and many other Asian countries have learned."

"We must have determination to eliminate violent elements if we want to bring peace and prosperity to the citizenry. The violent elements are few, but if we don't eliminate them, we cannot bring prosperity and peace to the millions of people."

"Our progress toward democracy should be evolutionary and not imprudent; democracy must be adapted to our own national environment so it can strike root in our own soil."

"Since the Restoration of Taiwan, we have suffered the buffeting of adverse international political tides and economic upheavals. But we have never been worried or apprehensive. We have followed the course of our principles. We have striven to fulfill our national responsibility with one will and one heart, and have carried out political, economic, social and cultural development step by step. We have regarded the great devotion shown by our mainland compatriots in recovering Taiwan 33 years ago as our spiritual lodestar for the national recovery today. We have built a psychological Great Wall and persisted in our confident waging of the struggle against Com­munism with total sincerity and the fortitude essential to success."

"I shall from now on try my best and most sincerely and call on all my wisdom and ability to face the challenge of reality with fortitude and determination in company with all my compatriots of the nation. I shall make careful plans and seek judicious judgments to attain the goals of national construction. I shall make every sacrifice to de­monstrate my loyalty and give myself to the service of winning the final victory for national recovery and reconstruction together with all the people of the country"

"We can say positively and clearly that the Republic of China will never change its determination to remain in the democratic camp and oppose Communism. We shall never change our position of not negotiating or compromising with the Communist enemy. Our fundamental policy and attitude in international politics is to strengthen friendly and moral relations with free nations and fulfill all of our obligations and responsibilities under the preconditions of anti­ Communism and national recovery."

"We must enlarge political participation, safeguard freedom and human rights, and assure that democracy and freedom are based on the will of all the people."

"We must make use of every minute, value every unit of our material power and pool the wisdom and talent of all so that we can accentuate both our visible national defense combat capability and our invisible political, social and cultural vitality, and combine these into a powerful, compact and undivided force."

"The fierce conflict confronting us will decide our fate - whether it is to be "glory or humiliation, freedom or slavery."

"In the past, there was no freedom, so we struggled to get freedom. In the past, we were oppressed by the political system, so we opposed the system. But today's Taiwan is a democratic nation. Besides seeking freedom, we must also consolidate the rule of law, accept the responsibilities associated with that, and work together to sustain our system of democratic, constitutional government."

"Our Taiwan road is "a road of democracy, a road of freedom, a road of human rights, and a road of peace for Taiwan". Taiwan is our country. Our country should not be bullied, dwarfed, marginalized, and localized."

"As long as we are united as one, stand firmly in our stride, and master our own direction, I believe we will again open up our own road and carve out the future of Taiwan"

"Taiwan is not a part of someone else, not someone else's local government, and not someone else's province."

"Taiwan's democracy embodies not merely a democratic experiment; it signifies an exemplary success. The standard of democracy achieved in Western nations is the result of years of trial and error. By comparison, Taiwan's new democracy, after weathering rough waters, has burgeoned into an even more precious accomplishment. Our experience also serves as a reminder that democracy does not come ready-made, nor is it a utopian ideal. There is no express train to transport us to the final destination. Democratic advancement occurs only through constant and gradual endeavor, one step at a time."

"With no clear national identity, our national security cannot be safeguarded, for there will be no basis upon which national interests can be defended."

"After I finish my term as president, I want to be a happy volunteer. As I have said before, our democratic reform is still ongoing and it must continue to be consolidated and deepened. But there is still a lot we could do regarding strengthening Taiwan-centric consciousness as well as realizing social equity and justice. I think I could be of assistance in this regard. Apart from being a happy volunteer, I also wish to make some contribution as a pusher and a cultivator and a gardener on Taiwan's road to democracy."

"As the leader of this nation, I want to make Taiwan into a normal country. Even though Taiwan is an independent, sovereign country, it is not yet a normal and complete country. Why do I say that Taiwan is not yet a normal country? Because if it were, it would be a member of the UN family and also be the member of the World Health Organization. Why do I say that Taiwan is not yet a complete country? Because our current Constitution has never been approved by our people. The 23 million people of Taiwan really need a new Taiwan constitution that is timely, relevant, and viable."

"It is our solemn duty and obligation to defend the peaceful status quo in the Taiwan Strait. It is China that is attempting to use military force to invade Taiwan and to change the peaceful status quo in the Taiwan Strait."

"This [Taiwanese] government, therefore, has always striven to maintain an ever-forbearing attitude with respect to the freedoms of speech, the press, publication and assembly in hopes of liberating Taiwan's people from the spiritual shackles that have bound them. The government has done so not only to enable the people to dare to speak, but to ensure the protection of every person's right to truly speak his or her mind and express views different from those of others."

"We know that Hong Kong, after the handover to mainland China, has been trying for universal suffrage … We know that mainland China has made promises and we're of course pleased to see Hong Kong changing in this direction."

"Both the 228 Incident (White Terror in Taiwan) and the June 4 Incident (Tiananmen Square Incident in Beijing) are like mirrors, reminding the leaders on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to engage in soul-searching and learn lessons."

"The mistakes of history might be gradually forgotten, but historical truth cannot be forgotten, since forgetting history could lead to the recurrence of the same mistakes."

"Anyone who embraces the Republic of China with all of their heart definitely does not support the Taiwan independence movement."

"The military should learn a lesson from the incident and correct its mistakes immediately after a review of its system. We must restore the people’s faith in the military."

"This (Taiwanese fisherman shot by Philippines coast guard incident) is not a problem between the people of Taiwan and the people of the Philippines. This is a problem between the people of Taiwan and the Philippine administration."

"I think mutual denial of each other’s sovereignty (between ROC and PRC) and mutual non-denial of respective jurisdictions would be more appropriate, but any proposal has its pros and cons, and I think it’s up for discussion."

"Since 1949, China has been temporarily divided, and each side of the Taiwan Strait is administered by a separate political entity. This is an objective reality."

"We do not and will not promote 'two Chinas', 'one China and one Taiwan' or 'Taiwan independence'. Taiwan and Mainland China share the common heritage. Both sides of the Taiwan Strait are part of the Chinese nation. Their people are descendants of the same ancestors. The people of mainland China and the people of Taiwan share a common bloodline, history and culture. And after five years of peaceful exchange, the two sides have created an unprecedented horizon for the Chinese nation, as well as set an example, not only for East Asia but also for the entire world, on how to settle disputes peacefully. With mutual non-recognition of sovereignty and mutual non-denial of jurisdiction as guiding principles, both sides should continue to expand and deepen their ties in areas such as commerce, culture, technology, environmental protection and human rights."

"There will be no national flags or other kinds of flags designed to specify cross-strait relations inside or outside the offices because we are not foreign nations to each other."

"The two sides of the Taiwan Strait will deepen cross-strait exchanges, and it will be difficult to continue such exchanges without representative offices."

"Pragmatically speaking, there exists no possibility of Taiwan independence. The only option (for Taiwan) is whether to reunify (with Mainland China) or not."

"No ruling out the possibility of unification with China, no support for Taiwanese independence and no use of force."

"President Tsai will end up with a legacy of broken diplomatic relations if she keeps implementing wrongheaded policies like condemning (mainland) China without ever reflecting upon herself."

"Renewable energy has its limitations and the government cannot put all its eggs in the same basket. We must develop different sources of energy, otherwise an energy crisis could result in a serious national security issue."

"We have no reason to be pessimistic about the (cross-strait service trade) agreement or to be afraid of its impact. The government will try its best to minimize possible damage and maximize the business opportunities the agreement can create."

"Providing compensation (to the victims of White Terror) will not write off the incidents once and for all."

"In 1992, the two sides (Taiwan and Mainland China) reached a consensus that each side would verbally express their adherence to the one China principle."

"Our relationship with mainland China is very subtle. We don’t have a state-to-state relationship and we do not view mainland China as a foreign state."

"The timing and conditions are ripe for the two sides to set up representative offices (ARATS in Taiwan and SEF in Mainland China). There are no political implications to the plan and the functions of the offices will be basically neutral."

"The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are all Chinese by ethnicity. Cross-strait relations are not international relations. Each side acknowledges the existence of "one China", but maintains its own interpretation based on the 1992 Consensus."

"It is impossible for us to recognize (mainland China) as another nation within our (Republic of China) territory."