11-08-2008 Issued by Initiatives for China
Contact: Jim Geheran Tel: 202-290-1423
initiatives4china@gmail.com
www.initiativesforchina.org
The Fourth Interethnic/InterfaithLeadership Conference held its opening session at Harvard University yesterday with praise and encouragement from world leaders with backgrounds as diverse as the conference itself.
In a statement read by Secretary Thekchen Choeling, the Dalai Lama stated the importance of this conference to furthering the advancement of democratic principles in China. “I am happy to know that this conference will pay special attention to the needs of the people of mainland China for human rights, democracy, and the rule of law, because these values are the foundation of a free and dynamic society. They are also the the source of true peace and stability.”
Taking time from her busy post-election schedule, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, The Honorable Nancy Pelosi sent her best wishes from her office in Washington, DC. “I commend the leaders of the diverse ethnic, faith-based and activist organizations that have gathered to cultivate an open dialogue and discover common ground,” said Speaker Pelosi. “We look forward to the day when the world’s most populous country can at last be called the world’s largest democracy.”
Other leaders echoed the sentiments of Speaker Pelosi that this conference plays a vital role in advancing the peaceful transition to a democratic China. The former Ambassador to Hungary and distinguished foreign affairs expert, Mark Palmer, called the efforts of the conference to spell out a vision of a tolerant society “as critical” to ensuring a peaceful future for China and the world. Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, the leader of the Uyghur people of East Turkestan called the conference “a valuable forum with which to explore interethnic and inter-religious cooperation in our common struggle for human rights, freedom and democracy”. Congressman Michael E. Capuano from Massachusetts, a longtime supporter of human rights around the world, sent greetings that “I am proud to support Dr. Yang Jianli and those who join him in defense of democracy and human rights. Today’s Interethnic/Interfaith Conference emphasizes that these ideals are universal.”
The keynote speaker for the first day of the conference was Ms. Roberta Bonazzi, Executive Director of the European Foundation for Democracy. In her warm and encouraging speech, Ms. Bonazzi stressed that the values of human rights and democracy are universal. She emphasized that this universality has been codified in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, to which all major nations, including China are signatories. Ms. Bonazzi encouraged the participants to continue their struggle to bring peaceful democratic reform to China and expressed her confidence that their efforts will bring democracy to China.
The Conference activities for the day included a stimulating panel discussion of cross strait relationships between Taiwan and Mainland China as well as formal introductions of all the participants, during which each participant introduced themselves, talked of their backgrounds, and of their hopes for the conference.
The day concluded with dinner and an address from Mr. Padraig O’Malley, Professor of International Peace and Reconciliation at the McCormack Graduate School, University of Massachusetts, Boston. Professor O’Malley gave a very entertaining and cogent talk of his experiences with the search for peace and reconciliation in South Africa and Ireland. From his experiences in Ireland and South Africa, Professor O’Malley has learned that tyranny and injustice can be overcome and that the obstacles, while formidable, are not unique and we can learn from past experiences to overcome the current challenges with China.
