海纳百川》世界民主运动 又一次取暖大会（方恩格）

取自总统府直播画面

10月25日，「世界民主运动」全球大会在台北开幕。虽然这是世界民主运动第11次举行全球集会，但这次活动鲜为人知，对台湾而言价值不大。那么，台湾为什么要举办呢？

首先，通过让乌克兰议员参与，台湾有机会表明它「与乌克兰站在一起」。然而，战争爆发8个月后，尽管台湾对乌克兰提供人道主义援助，但迄今为止，乌克兰总统泽伦斯基仍让他的政府和台湾保持距离（因此，台湾的外长与基辅市长举行了视讯会议，而不是与乌克兰外长举行了视讯会议） ，而乌克兰政府尚未承诺不会恢复对中国的军售。

其次，同志人权(LGBT)保障是全球大会议题的重要组成部分。由于美国政府资助的非政府组织美国国家民主基金会是「世界民主运动」全球大会的主要组织者，蔡政府有机会声称其与拜登政府在同志人权保障上有着共同的看法，并且可以尝试改变蔡英文政府押宝川普、希望川普击败拜登的看法。事实上，由于他们对中国的共同看法，民进党与共和党政客建立了良好的关系，尽管民进党政客在政策问题上与共和党人几乎没有共同之处，包括 同志人权。

第三，虽然台湾喜欢谈民主，但它避免在它以经援换取外交关系的国家推行民主。最近的例子包括史瓦帝尼、海地、宏都拉斯和索马利兰（被描述为「准外交关系」）的事件，早些时候，在所罗门群岛和尼加拉瓜的民主缺失上，台湾保持沉默，只为了要换取他们承认中华民国。

第四，通过在10月25日举行活动，国内媒体对这个民主运动国际论坛的报导回避了台湾光复节，以及蔡政府是否回避纪念二战结束日本投降、中华民国政府开始对台湾行使权力的日子。

第五，相对不为人知的「世界民主运动」全球大会是一个取暖派对，类似于台湾在许多无法参加的国际论坛中，于场外间隙举办的取暖活动。

对于民主论坛来说，最近比较突出的事件之一是拜登政府在 2021年12月举办的「民主峰会」。在峰会前，人们猜测蔡英文总统是否会被邀请出席或发言。通过视讯会议举行峰会，但最终拜登政府没有邀请她。峰会期间，时任政务委员唐凤发表演讲时，现场直播被打断。或许台湾会被邀请参加2023年的下一届民主峰会。

比「世界民主运动」更为突出的民主论坛包括日内瓦人权与民主峰会（于4月举行了年度活动）、总部位于丹麦的民主联盟基金会主办了年度哥本哈根民主峰会（举办了6月的年度活动），雅典民主论坛（9月举行了年度活动），总部位于波兰的多边政府组织民主社群（台湾虽然是民主国家，但不是成员国），国际民主论坛由法国政府和欧洲委员会于 11月在法国斯特拉斯堡举行的第10届年度论坛）和总部位于韩国的亚洲民主网络将于11 月在印尼举行其年度会议。

台湾民主基金会已经是一个名不见经传组织「东亚民主论坛」的秘书处。2019年，台湾还举办了「印太地区保卫宗教自由公民社会对话」，该活动于2022年再次举办，但更名为「印太地区公民社会对话论坛」。在前总统陈水扁的领导下，台湾民主基金会组织了「亚洲民主化论坛」。

10月初，台湾主办了玉山论坛，蔡总统向与会者强调「台湾位处在民主防线的最前缘」。台北的许多此类事件为来自民主和非民主东南亚国家的政府反对派提供了一个平台，他们在新南向政策下寻求与台湾改善关系，这与台湾意图改善与邻国关系的目标背道而驰。

美国前总统欧巴马最近宣布，他将于11月在纽约市举办一个民主论坛，希望台湾政府的知名人士能出席。到那个时候，台北的「世界民主运动」全球大会很可能已经被遗忘了。

（作者为美国共和党前亚太区主席）

A World Democracy Forum in Taipei?

By Ross Darrell Feingold

Former Asia Chairman, Republicans Abroad

Twitter: @RossFeingold

On October 25 the World Movement for Democracy Global Assembly began in Taipei. Although this is the eleventh time that the World Movement for Democracy has held a global assembly, this event is little known and has little value for Taiwan.

So why is Taiwan hosting it?

First, by having a Ukraine member of parliament participate, Taiwan gets a chance to demonstrate that it “Stands With Ukraine”. However, eight months after the war began and despite Taiwan’s humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, up to now Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has maintained a distance between his government and Taiwan (thus, Taiwan’s foreign minister held a videoconference with Kyiv’s mayor rather than Ukraine’s foreign minister), and the Ukraine government has yet to commit that it won’t resume military sales to China.

Second, LGBT rights are a prominent part of the topics at the Global Assembly. Because a US-government funded non-government organization, the National Endowment for Democracy, is the main organizer of the World Movement for Democracy Global Assembly, the Tsai Administration has a chance to claim it has a common view on LGBT rights with the Biden Administration, and can try to change the perception that the Tsai Administration preferred President Donald Trump defeat Joe Biden. In reality, because of their shared views on China, the Democratic Progressive Party has developed excellent relations with Republican politicians even though Democratic Progressive Party politicians otherwise have little in common with Republicans on policy issues, including on LGBT rights.

Third, although Taiwan likes to talk about democracy promotion, it avoids promoting democracy in countries it supports with financial aid in return for diplomatic relations. Recent examples include events in Eswatini, Haiti, Honduras, and Somaliland (with whom relations are described as “diplomatic relations in waiting”), and earlier, Taiwan was silent about democracy shortcomings in the Solomon Islands and in Nicaragua prior to those countries de-recognizing the Republic of China.

Fourth, by holding the event on October 25th, domestic press coverage about an international forum in Taipei avoids discussion about Retrocession Day and whether the Tsai Administration is avoiding commemoration of the day on which the Republic of China government began to exercise authority over Taiwan upon Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II.

Fifth, the relatively unknown “World Movement for Democracy” global assembly is a pity party event, similar to events Taiwan organizes on the sidelines of international forums Taiwan is unable to attend.

For democracy forums, one of the more prominent events recently was the Biden Administration’s “Summit for Democracy” in December 2021. Prior to the summit there was much speculation as to whether President Tsai Ing-wen would be invited to either attend or speak to the summit via videoconference, but ultimately the Biden Administration did not invite her. During the summit, the live stream was disrupted when then-Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang delivered her speech. Maybe Taiwan will be invited to the next Summit for Democracy in 2023.

Democracy forums that are more prominent than the World Movement for Democracy include the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy (which held its annual event in April), the Denmark-based Alliance of Democracies Foundation which hosts the annual Copenhagen Democracy Summit (which held its annual event in June), the Athens Democracy Forum (which held its annual event in September), the Poland-based multilateral government organization the Community of Democracies (Taiwan is not a member state despite being a democracy), the World Forum for Democracy organized by the government of France and the Council of Europe held in Strasbourg, France which in November will hold its tenth annual forum), and the Korea-based Asian Democracy Network which will hold its annual meeting in Indonesia in November.

The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy is already the secretariat for a little-known organization called the “East Asia Democracy Forum”. In 2019, Taiwan also hosted a “A Civil Society Dialogue on Securing Religious Freedom in the Indo-Pacific Region”, an event that was held again in 2022 though the name was changed to “Regional Religious Freedom Forum”. Under former President Chen Shui-bian, the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy organized a “World Forum for Democratization in Asia”.

Earlier in October, Taiwan hosted the Yushan Forum, with President Tsai emphasizing to attendees that “Taiwan stands on the frontlines of the defense of democracy”. Many of these events in Taipei give a platform to government opponents from both democratic and non-democratic Southeast Asian countries that under the New Southbound Policy Taiwan seeks better relations with, which is counter to Taiwan’s goal to improve relations with its neighbors.

Former President Barack Obama recently announced he will host a democracy forum in New York City in November. Hopefully a prominent person from the Taiwan government will attend. Most likely by that time, the World Movement for Democracy Global Assembly in Taipei will already be forgotten.

※以上言论不代表旺中媒体集团立场※