(Central News Agency reporter Wu Shenghong, Taipei, 17th) In order to demonstrate the public-private collaboration between the government and NGOs to participate in international achievements, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held an NGO leaders forum today. Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tanaka-guang said that Taiwan supports democracy and human rights and other beliefs, and firmly protects universal values; women’s rights Experts affirm “Taiwanese women’s power” and believe that Taiwan has been quite successful in the field of gender equality and is a leader in gender equality in Asia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the 4th “2023 NGO Leaders Forum” today, with the theme of “Strengthening the Alliance of Universal Values: Taiwan’s Public-Private Cooperation and Connecting Global Civil Society”, emphasizing that Taiwan is at the forefront of the democratic community’s fight against global authoritarianism and firmly cooperates with other countries and Civil society protects universal values such as freedom, democracy and human rights, and invites domestic and foreign NGO leaders, government and business representatives to exchange ideas.
In his speech, Vice Foreign Minister Tanaka Mitsuru said that the world has encountered unprecedented challenges in the past three years. In the early days of the epidemic, even though many countries had not heard of Taiwan at the time, Taiwan still donated masks and other anti-epidemic materials to friendly countries. Later, international friends also donated vaccines. To Taiwan, friendly exchanges in the international community have increased Taiwan’s visibility.
Tanaka Hikaru said that with the expansion of authoritarianism, Taiwan continues to support universal values such as peace, democracy, and human rights. The NGO Leaders Forum witnessed Taiwan’s cooperation with other countries, contributed to the world, and also verified Taiwan’s soft power in the world.
Denise Scotto, vice president of the International Federation of Women Legal Practitioners (FIFCJ), said in her speech that in recent years, intensive interaction and cooperation with the Taiwanese government and private individuals have indeed revealed that Taiwan has strong “Taiwanese women”. “Power” has been very successful in gender equality and is a leader in gender equality in Asia.
Scotto mentioned that former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton once proposed that “women’s rights are human rights”, demonstrating the importance of women’s strength; when the world faced the challenge of the epidemic, female leaders such as Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern showed leadership characteristics, and its achievements in safeguarding the health of the country and its people are obvious to all.
Scotto said that women’s willingness to help each other from the perspective of issues rather than considering personal gain is one of the qualities needed in leaders.
Liberato Bautista, President of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations with Consultative Status to the United Nations (CoNGO), said that the purpose of NGOs is to promote social dialogue and strive to open up communication between society and the government. In the process of promoting the concept of global public welfare, Taiwan also plays an important role, working with all walks of life to ensure that no one is left out and to demonstrate the value of civil society in the international arena. (Editor: Zhao Weilan) 1121117
