2010-07-19
Chair Tsai Ing-wen: National Party Congress Speech
The DPP, as a political party, cannot stop competing and trying to achieve governing power. This is the nature of political parties. We must also not stop reflecting on the real responsibilities of a political party.
The answer to what these responsibilities are can be found by looking at children’s faces.
Just 24 years ago, when the party was founded, our predecessors sacrificed their lives to pave the way for Taiwan’s democracy. Along the way, Taiwan achieved prosperity and started to enjoy a rich and diverse culture. Our predecessors also strengthened Taiwan as an independent country, achieving this generation’s firm belief in Taiwanese identity.
We were given these precious assets and now we have even greater responsibility to constantly think about what kind of legacy we wish to leave for our next generation.
The answer is simple, but bears constant repetition: happiness and prosperity.
Happiness means that the moment our children are born, they are able to receive the best of care, the most secure environment in which to grow, a diverse and refined education in order to become independent thinkers, adequate employment opportunities to showcase their talents and a comfortable home environment for raising children and taking care of the elderly.
Prosperity means that from an early age, they can recognize their own land, learn how to love and cherish our ecological environment laden with a rich, diverse culture so they can take pride in their native land of Taiwan. Prosperity also means that our people should never feel at a loss and start abandoning their home.
It is in every person’s natural right to pursue their own happiness, and everyone hopes to achieve prosperity. The reason we participate in politics is to create happiness and prosperity for our next generation. Otherwise, what is the meaning of what we do?
This year’s Big-5 Elections are, perhaps for the KMT, a battle for power, but for the DPP they are a struggle to fight for the people’s happiness and prosperity! Our battle is to let the people enjoy a better livelihood and a secure environment, a complete system of care and plenty of employment opportunities, convenient transportation and refined education.
We make a pledge to make our brand of green power forever bright because we know that in every person’s mind, they have a green dream. ‘Green’ not only represents ‘grassroots’ but it also means a new generation of green power that includes technology, environmental protection, fairness, reform and quality politics!
Putting into practice the green dream is to create happiness and prosperity for our citizens, creating an even happier and prosperous country!
Dear ladies and gentlemen, this is a responsibility that we cannot avoid. We must exhaust all our efforts complete and achieve this responsibility. On November 27, we must use our victory to create prosperity and happiness!
