Taiwan Foundation for Democracy

From SourceWatch
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD)

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs initiated the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy project in 2002. After much research and careful evaluation, the Ministry integrated the required resources from many sectors of society. In January 2003, the Ministry obtained the support of all political parties to pass the budget for the Foundation in the legislature. The TFD formally came into being on June 17, 2003, with its first meeting of the Board of Trustees and Supervisory Board. At that meeting, Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng was elected its first chairman. According to its By-laws, the TFD is governed by a total of fifteen trustees and five supervisors, representing political parties, the government, academia, non-governmental organizations, and the business sector." [1]

From 2004: "The influence of Taiwan, the first Chinese democracy, depends upon its status as a beacon of democracy in Asia, said Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy, at the first anniversary of the establishment of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) yesterday...

"The Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy was created in 1983 with a mission to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through non-governmental efforts. It has been a major instrument in the establishment of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. Formed in June last year, the TFD is the first international foundation promoting democracy to be established in Asia." [2]

From May 31-June 1, 2007 they cosponsored a conference called New Efforts to Promote Democracy with the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) and the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University. Many NED representatives spoke at the conference. [3]

Their website provides links to the following organisations based in North America: [4]

Asia Democracy & Human Rights Award

"The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy today honored Reporters sans frontières (RSF or Reporters Without Borders) with first annual Asia Democracy & Human Rights Award (ADHRA) to recognize its outstanding achievements in human rights and democracy. The TFD invited President Chen Shui-bian to present the 2006 Asia Democracy & Human Rights Award sculpture (designed to represent the shield of democracy and human rights) to RSF founder and Secretary-General Robert Ménard, and TFD Chairman Wang Jin-pyng presented the award grant of US$100,000...

"RSF was nominated for the ADHRA by 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi, China’s “64tianwang.com” webmaster Huang Qi, and Médecins sans frontières founder Bernard Kouchner. The nominators all strongly affirmed the work of the organization in Asia." [5]

People

Accessed August 2007: [6]

Supervisory Board

International Visiting Fellows [8]

Contact

Web: http://www.tfd.org.tw/english

Resources and articles

Related Sourcewatch

References

  1. About TFD - Background, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, accessed August 23, 2007.
  2. Melody Chen , "Taiwan lauded as Asian beacon of democracy", Taipei Times, June 15, 2004.
  3. New Efforts to Promote Democracy, Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, accessed August 23, 2007.
  4. Links, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, accessed August 23, 2007.
  5. 28 January 2007: The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy confers the first perennial Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award (ADHRA) to Reporters sans frontières, accessed August 23, 2007.
  6. About TFD, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, accessed August 23, 2007.
  7. About TFD - Governance and Structure, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, accessed August 23, 2007.
  8. Fellowships - Fellowship Program Alumni, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, accessed August 23, 2007.