Representative Frankel, distinguished congresswomen, and members of the delegation. Good morning. It is our pleasure to welcome all of you to the Democratic Progressive Party.
范蘭珂眾議員、各位傑出的女性眾議員,以及訪問團的各位成員,早安。很榮幸歡迎各位來到民進黨。
Together with us here are also a number of female congresswoman from the DPP. Fifteen of our 40 member legislative caucus are women – and women participation in politics is important for us as a progressive political party. But today we have 4 legislators here.
Your visit comes at an important time for Taiwan. We are now in the middle of a very spirited presidential and legislative campaign. For the first time ever, two women are contending for the presidency from both major political parties – although now there appears a chance of this happening in the U.S. as well.
In front of you is a piggy bank. This is what we've been using for our campaign. At its heart, the DPP is a grassroots party, founded by people that wanted to see a free, democratic, and prosperous Taiwan. We’ve never been a party with a lot of party assets and most of our funding comes from small donations.
Last time in our 2012 campaign, a set of young triplets donated their piggy bank’s savings to support my campaign -- I was the candidate for our last campaign as well. This set off a movement that saw people - from all walks of life and all over the country - come together to donate money to us. Altogether 140,000 piggy banks were donated to us before the election. Small donations ended up accounting for 87% of all our funding.
The percentage of small donations we received symbolized our commitment to transparency, accountability, and standing together with the people of Taiwan. This year, we’re doing it again; we’re hoping to recapture that story.
This is an example of what is at stake in Taiwan: a progressive and vibrant democracy. It’s also at the foundation of what brings Taiwan and the United States together. In a region facing growing political and security challenges, Taiwan stands as an example of freedom, democracy, and respect for human rights.
As long-time friends of Taiwan, I’m confident that in the future, we will build this relation on our shared interests in a safe, stable, and prosperous region.