About TFD - Messages from the Directors
Chairman：Wang, Jin-Pyng
Democracy assistance organizations have been established worldwide since the beginning of the twentieth century, striving to create a fertile international environment that nurtures the spread of both democracy and human rights. Taiwan is now ready to join this growing community. The establishment of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) marks a milestone in Taiwan's democratization process, while it also inaugurates a new networking channel with the international community.Through the establishment of the Foundation we disseminate an important message: Taiwan is determined to contribute to the flourishing of democracy in the Asia-Pacific region as well as to the aspirations of the global democratic community. With the new international connections created, we will learn from the experiences of the world's advanced democracies and improve upon our own efforts; soon, we will also serve as a platform through which Taiwan may share its experiences with other aspiring democracies.
Because of its weighty mission, the Foundation shoulders heavy responsibilities. Its founding spirit and vision will help consolidate Taiwan's democratic achievements, and its establishment creates a new and significant link in the international network of democratic institutions. I, as chairman of the TFD, along with the Foundation's board members, supervisors, president, and staff, will resolutely do our best to fulfill the TFD's vision and mission.
Vice Chairman：Francisco H. L. OU
From the 1980's onwards, many countries worldwide have undergone political transformations from authoritarian or militaristic to democratic rules. By the end of the last century, democratization had spread around the world, and Taiwan too became part of this sweeping change. Now, in this new century, Taiwan proceeds in its quiet but successful revolution, steadily joining the community of democracies. The Centre for the Studies in Democratization at the University of Warwick has established political, economic, and social indexes to evaluate the democratization progress of nations around the world-yet no matter the index, Taiwan continues to excel in these rankings. Democracy is a great asset which Taiwan has to offer the world. The first priority of the TFD is to introduce Taiwan's democratization to the international community, in part by establishing solid relationships with like-minded democracy assistance foundations elsewhere. International networking is thus a crucial part of the Foundation's mission. To further this end, the TFD aims to promote exchanges and cooperation between Taiwan's parliamentarians and those abroad, connect with think tanks worldwide, establish the Asia-Pacific Democracy Resource Center as a platform for dialogue among groups working in Asia, and host various international conferences.
President ：Lin, Wen-cheng
Western nations began establishing democracy assistance foundations in the turbulent political decades of the last century. These democracy foundations have since devoted themselves to strengthening democracies worldwide, and in many cases have collaborated in their efforts to do so. Through the years they have aided nascent democracies by supporting political party competition, encouraging free market mechanisms, strengthening the rule of law, and supporting the development of civil societies.The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy has been established to promote similar democratic ideals. In founding the TFD as a non-partisan, non-profit endeavor, Taiwan has drawn from the experiences of Western countries while bearing in mind lessons from its own ongoing democratization efforts. The support of the international community can only aid the TFD in fulfilling its tasks.
More and more, international "democratization," "globalization," and "informationalization" draws the denizens of our global village closer together; more and more, democracy and human rights are becoming imbedded in mainstream values the world over. The TFD has been established in recognition of such contemporary developments. Decades of development, with help from abroad, has culminated in Taiwan's current stage of political progress. As part of this stage, the TFD is now poised to fulfill its critical international mission of advocating universal democratic and human rights values both in Taiwan and abroad.