24th January 2012
The Diplomatic Courier
Taiwan at juncture between two centuries
Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou on January 9 delivered his 2012 New Year’s Day Address entitled ”Lighting Candles for the Next Generation”, in which he outlined his views on the future expectation of Taiwan. Following is an abridged version of the speech:

Today is the first day of the 101st year of the Republic of China. A couple of hours ago, the first light of dawn in the ROC’s second century broke over the peak of Mt. Jade. During the past few days, at the juncture of these two centuries, a clear vision has taken shape in my mind. It is as if I was standing atop a historic watershed. On one side is a slope representing the past century. On the other side is a slope representing the next century. The course of past events is clearly in view, while the basic logic of what lies ahead can be seen in broad outline.
Looking back at what has gone before, I see our forebears struggling mightily to bring about today’s Republic of China. Looking ahead, I can imagine ROC citizens 100 years from now scrutinizing what we in this era created for the country, what we introduced, what we solved, and what we bequeathed to it.
Everything we do today decides what will happen in the future...
During the final three years of our nation’s first century, the ROC, along with the rest of the world, suffered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the last century. And now we head shakily into a new century under the threat posed by the European debt crisis. Instead of downplaying it, I choose to be honest with the people: 2012 will be a difficult and critical year. We’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us. Four decades ago, as Taiwan’s economy was undergoing transformation, Sun Yun-suan and Li Kwoh-ting built a solid foundation on behalf of our generation. Today, as the global economy reconfigures following the outbreak of financial crisis, we must take a page out of their playbook and lay a solid foundation for the next generation.
Despite daunting challenges in the external environment, I have faith in the people of Taiwan and in our ability to adapt. I have faith in the strength of our economy and in the profound depth of our culture. During the past hundred years, we endured a long period of war and upheaval, and then worked hard to catch up in peaceful times. The industriousness of Taiwan’s people has earned admiration worldwide in such areas as research and development, art, culture, sports, design, innovation, and humanitarian assistance.
Over the recent years, our athletes, inventors, designers, artists, scientists, international volunteers, and even students from universities, high schools, and vocational colleges and schools have performed outstandingly on the world stage. Without realising it, we have already transformed ourselves from learners to innovators; from trend followers to cultural trendsetters; from importers of compassion to exporters of it, and from all-out pursuers of efficiency, to adroit managers and innovators. The citizens of our country should feel pride and joy at the achievement of this transition and maturity. This is our best source of strength as we head into the ROC’s next century.