Rio+20 Chairman Sha Zukang Attends Youth Meeting: The Summit Cannot Fail
Reprinted from Taiwan Youth Climate Coalition. Reported by Li Chih-jung, a Taiwanese youth, in Rio, Brazil, on June 12, 2012
Rio+20 Chair Sha Zukang attended the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) youth meeting this afternoon, where young people from more than one hundred countries around the world gathered at the Sul America Convention Center in Rio. Chair Sha responded to a question from a young person about how he would answer to the youth if the Rio conference failed. Chair Sha responded that failure was impossible, and that he would not let failure happen.
In his speech, Chair Sha strongly encouraged young people to directly influence government decision-making and to directly engage with official representatives of various countries, pushing the conference forward in the manner of youth. The youth of this generation are the most closely connected generation in history, including in their use of the internet and their degree of active participation, both of which greatly surpass those of the past. As an officially recognized Major Group, youth have a responsibility in the negotiation process and are capable of serving as important consultants.
When a young person asked how Chair Sha would answer to the youth if this conference failed, Chair Sha immediately and strongly stated that the Rio conference would not fail, and that he would not let it fail. As soon as he said this, the young people in the venue immediately erupted in cheers. Chair Sha said that this conference was attended by more than 130 countries and over 15,000 people, and was meant to review the outcomes of the negotiations twenty years ago. But what we see is that, while there may indeed have been some progress, that progress falls far short of the social, economic, and environmental costs. Failure is not among our options.
Chair Sha spoke of two main themes of this year's conference: the green economy and the sustainable development framework. Chair Sha directly stated that the green economy is a tool for sustainable development, not an approach. This political language implicitly indicated Chair Sha's support for Third World countries. Chair Sha said that the green economy is not merely the green economy; rather, the green economy must be used even more to safeguard sustainable development.
On the issue of indigenous peoples, Chair Sha also expressed deep concern. Having long been a human rights leader, Chair Sha holds a firm and uncompromising position on human rights.
A young person from Hong Kong, China, revealed that in a private conversation with Chinese youth, Chair Sha spoke about his past diplomatic career and his deeds as a young person, including being a Red Guard leader and the fighting during the Cultural Revolution. Through this, he told the youth that despite being young, they can do many great things.
———————————————————————————————
This year's Rio+20 Earth Summit, held in Rio, Brazil, is in full swing
Rio+20 is not only a conference held once every ten years, but has also given rise to many international conventions
In order to obtain the latest information and connect with the international community, many scholars, experts, and officials from Taiwan, China, as well as major environmental groups, have gone to participate
But among Taiwanese youth, participation has been very sparse, and the four representatives of the Taiwan Youth Climate Coalition are among the few
How fortunate we are, and yet we also bear a heavy responsibility
To record the various happenings in the venue from the perspective of youth, to engage with senior figures from various countries, and to exchange with major NGOs
We also, from the perspective of youth, promote our ideals and ideas, and practice them ourselves by taking part.
Here, the Taiwan Youth Climate Coalition invites you to join us in following the reports and latest developments of the four youth representatives
Let us all pay attention to Rio+20 in Rio, Brazil!!!