[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 138 (Monday, September 30, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11943-S11944]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       DEMOCRATIC TRENDS IN ASIA

  Mr. PELL. Mr. President, as the 20th century draws to a close, we all 
find ourselves musing and marveling over the changes history has 
brought the world in this millennium. Human ingenuity has brought 
astounding advances in technology and in medicine. Society has also 
faced revolutionary changes and our forbearers who welcomed the year 
1900 would little recognize the lives their descendants lead today. In 
politics, the 20th century brought new ways of thinking about the 
social contract between citizens and their government. Some, like 
fascism and communism, were dangerous and ultimately discredited 
failures. But democracy, the great experiment our Founding Fathers 
created on the shores of the New World, has not just endured but spread 
around the world. It has been my great delight to watch democracy begin 
to spread in Asia.
  Some would argue that it is not natural that democracy would grow in 
Asia. Some Asian leaders and intellectuals have actively resisted the 
idea that democracy be a political option for the region. They have 
argued that Asian values--loosely Confucian, authoritarian, and family- 
or group-focused rather than individually-focused--are inconsistent 
with democracy. These leaders further argue that the stunning economic 
success of the East Asian ``Tigers'' is specifically due to their more 
closed political systems and to their emphasis on social stability at 
the expense of individual voice and choice. Moreover, these same 
leaders will point to legitimate problems in many Western societies--
such as drug abuse, homelessness, violent crimes, to name a few--are 
the direct result of an overly permissive society that emphasizes 
individual freedom over social stability. But I believe that these 
cultural arguments distort reality and are

[[Page S11944]]

often used as excuses for maintaining an authoritarian-style regime.
  Democracy precludes neither economic success nor social stability. In 
fact, the rapid economic development of many Asian countries has 
brought new social problems and pressures that perhaps only a more 
democratic political system can relieve. Take, for example, Taiwan. As 
income levels rose, individuals gained a new sense of control over 
their own and their children's futures. Many traveled to the West and 
sent their children to study in Western universities, where they 
learned of the plethora of opportunities--professional, social, and 
personal--that democratic societies offer their citizens. They returned 
with new ideas and new expectations of and for their own government. 
The authoritarian style of leadership that characterized the government 
under Chaing Kai-shek proved unable to meet the needs of the rising 
middle class in Taiwan and the government was forced to evolve. 
Taiwan's current president, Lee Teng-hui, deserves much credit for 
managing and even fostering the change. Perhaps as a just reward, Lee 
won a popular re-elected bid last March and became the first 
democratically-elected Chinese leader in history.
  Mr. President, the political and social system on Taiwan is far from 
perfect, something the leadership there readily admits. But Taiwan has 
managed an astounding economic and political transformation in a 
relatively short period of time, with little violence or social 
upheaval. I believe that Taiwan serves as a sharp rebuttal to those who 
say that traditional Asian values will not permit the growth of a 
healthy democracy. Other Asian states, including Japan and South Korea, 
have found democracy to be consistent with economic development. Now 
even Mongolia has chosen democracy as its path to a brighter future.
  Other Asian nations could benefit from following a Taiwan model of 
political reform. I find it unlikely that a country that is 
experiencing the rapid economic growth, technological development and 
social change that China is experiencing can long restrain the 
inevitable pressure for political changes as well. The military leaders 
in Burma have only hindered their country's economic development by 
forcibly resisting the results of democratic elections there.
  Indonesia, in particular, has reached a critical point in its 
economic and social development. There are clear signs that the 
developing middle class is restless and chaffing within the current 
restrictive political system. President Soeharto, who has done so many 
good things for his country's development already, could cement his 
legacy as a great leader by taking steps toward a more responsive and 
participatory political system. Such steps would serve to enhance his 
government's standing in the country and in the world, not diminish it.
  Mr. President, the U.S. cannot and should not ignore important 
cultural and historical differences between our own country and 
countries in Asia. There is much in Asian society that we in this 
country can learn from and we should be open to doing so. But Asian 
individuals are no less deserving of a responsive government and 
freedom of choice than their Western counterparts and cultural 
differences should not be used as a mask to conceal and support 
authoritarian regimes. It is very much in the U.S. interest to promote 
and support the trend toward democracy in Asia, as we have done for 
several decades.
  We do not know what changes the 21st century will bring to our world. 
But we can hope and expect that our descendants will enjoy greater 
peace and prosperity if our nation trades and cooperates with a 
democratized Asia. Individual freedom and choice are not exclusively 
Western values and promoting them around the world is not Western 
imperialism. The growth of democracy has brought great benefits to 
nations that adopted it and Asian nations deserve these benefits as 
well. The trend toward democracy is already there; we should do all we 
can to foster and encourage it.

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