Let Us All Become “Volunteers for Peace”!

This morning I saw online that Cheng Li-wen, the newly elected Chairwoman of hte Kuomintang (KMT), declared to the international community that Taiwan should not be a “trouble-maker” but a “peace-maker.” I wholeheartedly support this, and I believe it is also the shared wish of the vast majority of our compatriots in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu.

I recall that in the year 2000, when Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was elected the 10th President of the Republic of China, I tendered my resignation to President Lee Teng-hui from my post as Ambassador to the Holy See, following the conventions of party transition. President Lee did not make a decision before leaving office. After taking office, President Chen sent the new Foreign Minister, Professor Tien Hung-mao, to the Vatican to ask me to remain. I agreed to stay temporarily and hoped that the new administration would soon appoint an appropriate successor.

That September, I returned to Taiwan to report for duty. When President Chen met with me, he asked why the tiny Vatican maintained diplomatic relations with more than 170 countries, including all permanent members of the UN Security Council except China, and even communist countries such as Cuba. I explained that the Holy See is a permanently neutral, non-aligned state. In the United Nations, it holds the status of an “observer,” meaning it does not vote for or against any international issue, but only proclaims the message that humanity must unite and the world must pursue peace. Therefore, it has no enemies—only friends.

President Chen then asked if I had any concrete proposals. I had in fact prepared one in advance: the establishment of a “World Peace Foundation” modeled on the Nobel Peace Prize, to echo the Pope’s annual peace messages and to help shape Taiwan’s image as a peace-loving Society. My reasoning was that Taiwan could never match the mainland’s national power. Instead of heavily investing in military force—such as buying 150 F-16 fighters—why not allocate the cost of just one fighter jet (50 million USD) to create a foundation that rewards individuals and institutions promoting peace across the Taiwan Strait and in the world? This would not diminish our defensive strength but would give us the favorable impression of “investing in defense” while also “investing in peace.” President Chen nodded repeatedly in approval and instructed Deputy Secretary-General Eugene Y. H. Chien, who was present, to coordinate evaluations with the Ministries of National Defense and Foreign Affairs.

Three years later, in 2003, I again returned to Taiwan to report for duty. President Chen told me that he had already accepted my suggestion and established a foundation. I did not ask about it on the spot, but later inquired with Foreign Minister Eugene Chien. He said that the foundation was named the “Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.” At that moment, I felt alarmed: this was essentially modeled after the U.S. anti-communist “National Endowment for Democracy.” How could such a foundation promote cross-strait reconciliation and world peace?

In July that year, after Mrs. Chen the First Lady visited the Vatican, my request to resign as Ambassador to the Holy See was finally approved. Before returning to Taiwan early the following year on January 8, 2004, I together with my wife and daughter went to see Pope John Paul II and made our farewell. He expressed hope that after my retirement I would continue to “promote peace and make peace.” This perfectly matched my own aspiration to be an “instrument” of peace. After nearly eight years in the Vatican, I had been deeply influenced by the “Peace Prayer” of Saint Francis of Assisi, which begins: “Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.” Promoting world peace is, after all, the duty of every diplomat.

It has now been 21 years since my retirement. I have always considered myself a “global peace volunteer,” dedicated to promoting cross-strait reconciliation, urging the frontline Kinmen County Council to designate August 23 as “Peace Day,” and helping establish Kinmen as a “bridge” of friendship and cooperation between the people of Taiwan and the mainland. I also call on our citizens not to become a “pawn” in America’s quest for dominance, but instead to be a “bridge” of mutual assistance and shared prosperity between the United States and mainland China.

To respond to Chairwoman Cheng Li-wen’s call to become “peace-makers,” I sincerely appeal, as a global peace volunteer, to all compatriots of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu:

Let us fully support this vision—

Let us all become volunteers for peace!