Taipei, Oct. 20 (CNA) A peace promotion conference organized by ten non-government organizations (NGOs) and called "The Taiwan Peace Season: Peace and the Grassroots Movement," began in Taipei Friday.
The program, which runs until Oct. 23 and focuses on cross-strait relations as well as peace in East Asia, includes an international peace conference, an "I love peace" concert and training programs for young peace ambassadors.
Part of the international conference will be held in Kinmen, previously a warzone in the 1950s, on Oct. 23.
Allen Houng, the commissioner of the movement and chairman of the Constitution Reform Alliance in Taiwan, said the concept of peace is easy to understand but difficult to apply.
The realization of peace cannot rely on politics or forceful coercion, he said. The only solution is to promote peace through the grassroots movement, Houng said.
Five international peace movement promotors, including scholars and grassroots leaders from the United States, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Mongolia will also attend the conference to facilitate a regional alliance on peace promotion.
"The timing of this movement could not be better as domestic political controversies, chaos and the North Korea nuclear issue have unfolded before us," said chief organizer Tang Kwang-hua.
Tang also described the movement as the "third stage" of a civic peace movement in Taiwan, following the Taiwan Strait crisis in 1995-96 and the arms procurement debate in 2004.