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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 President promotes religious tolerance
President Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the Regional Religious Freedom Forum in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
FREEDOM: Taiwan is committed to creating a world where people are free from the fear of persecution because of their religion or ethnicity, President Tsai Ing-wen said
By Ann Maxon / Staff reporter
President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） yesterday emphasized Taiwan’s commitment to promoting religious freedom around the world at the opening ceremony of the first Regional Religious Freedom Forum jointly organized by Taiwan and the US.
Taiwan chooses to “stand with those who are oppressed and whose religious rights have been taken away by authoritarian regimes” because Taiwanese know “how it feels when someone tries to take away your rights, wipe out your identity and challenge your way of life,” she said.
That is why Taiwan has been striving to strengthen value-based partnerships with like-minded friends around the world, while remaining “committed to creating a world where people are free from fear of persecution, or the fear of exile because of their religion or ethnicity,” she said in her address at the forum, titled “A Civil Society Dialogue on Securing Religious Freedom in the Indo-Pacific Region.”
The two-day forum was organized by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and the American Institute in Taiwan （AIT） and sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of State.
It was the first such forum held in the region and serves as a follow-up to the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, hosted by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington in July last year.
Taiwan has diverse religions and religious freedom is central to Taiwanese life, Tsai said.
Taipei’s Xinsheng S Road, which has become known as “the road to heaven,” houses a Buddhist temple, a mosque and Christian and Mormon churches, she said.
History has shown that when people are free from fear, their countries also become “more stable, peaceful and prosperous,” she added.
While many countries continue to crack down on religious freedom, she hopes the forum would become “a beacon of true global religious freedom for our region and the world,” she said.
AIT Director Brent Christensen said that there is “no better place than Taiwan to host this inaugural conference for the Indo-Pacific region.”
“Few places in the Indo-Pacific region, or worldwide for that matter, can claim to have given birth to religious organizations that have done so much to inspire the world and contribute to the common good beyond its own borders,” he said.
The forum offers an opportunity to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific — free “both in terms of security — free from coercion by other nations — and in terms of values and political systems,” he said.
In addition, it serves as a landmark event highlighting Taiwan’s and the US’ shared values, as the AIT celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act throughout the year, he added.
The forum’s opening ceremony was attended by more than 200 activists and campaigners from 15 Indo-Pacific countries.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
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