Matt Salmon: “Twenty-three years ago I was 19 years old and I was peddling a bike around in Taiwan. I was sent there as a missionary…”

“Twenty-three years ago I was 19 years old and I was peddling a bike around in Taiwan. I was sent there as a missionary for the Mormon church. One of my responsibilities was to go around and knock on people's doors to try to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is interesting, this Friday I will be going back to Taiwan a lot less humble and lowly than I was 22 years ago. I will be meeting with the newly elected President, President Chen Shui-bian, who by the way is a strong advocate of permanent normal trade relations between China and the United States. I made these comments because I remember in the 1970s when I lived in Taiwan. We have had some examples of history. Let me tell my colleagues about the history of Taiwan. I know. I lived there. I speak the language. I know the people. In the 1970s, Taiwan was anything but the free democracy we see today. We just saw with this recent election, a free and democratic election in Taiwan, the second of its kind in 5,000 years. But it was not always that way. In fact, Taiwan had a very oppressive governmental regime. There was not freedom of speech. There was not freedom of the press. In fact, I remember talking with an individual in the park one day, he was being critical of the government, we never saw him again; and we were told that he went to prison. The fact is Taiwan was not a free society. But they engaged with the West, they adopted economic reforms.”