Lai stresses democracy at DPP National Party Congress

Taipei, July 21 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) stressed the value of democracy for Taiwan during his address to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) national congress in Taipei Sunday.

Lai, speaking in Taiwanese Hokkien throughout, said that the theme for the congress this year is "democratic Taiwan moving forward in unity."

He also proposed three main targets for the DPP.

The first is to establish a national identity based on Taiwan subjectivity, said Lai, who also serves as the DPP's chair.

The party is responsible for uniting the people, opposing annexation and ensuring the country's sovereignty, as well as establishing an identity that the "23 million people living in Taiwan are a community of destiny," Lai said.

Secondly, the democratic constitutional system must be strengthened, Lai said.

The constitutional system separating the powers has to be protected to prevent the concentration of power, harming people's rights, Lai said.

Without the authority and consensus of the constitution's regulatory power, there would not be sound party politics, he said.

Per the constitutional principle that "the sovereignty belongs to the people," the party should continue to push to lower the voting age to 18, as well as fight against election bribery and eliminate unfair elections, Lai added.

Lastly, human rights and freedom must be safeguarded, including keeping abuses of the freedom of speech in check to protect the people and the democratic society from the harms of misinformation and cognitive warfare, Lai said.

He said social justice must be maintained, with judicial reforms to protect the people and build their trust in the justice system, as well as defense of the peoples' right of residence from speculators.

Equality among different genders, racial groups, ages, regions and classes should be realized to make a stable and harmonious society, Lai said.

To allow more opportunities for independent civilians to participate in political decisions, an open government should also be constructed, he said.

Lai stressed that the party cannot allow Taiwan to fall in the danger of extinction due to the failure of democratic politics.

The DPP holds its national conference annually. This year, the conference has also elected the party's central standing committee members, central executive committee members and central evaluation committee members.