Beginning in February 2011, Kook Jin Moon has been telling South Korean audiences of the need for them to pay attention to the changing international environment and make the necessary preparations to defend their country. He delivered the following message on Oct. 18, 2012, at Mt. Mani on Ganghwa Island to more than 4,000 people attending an event sponsored by the National Campaign for a Strong Korea, which he jointly chairs along with Dr. Kim Min Ha. -- editor
Thank you for coming today.
Mt. Mani is a mountain with strong spiritual significance for our people. Coming to this mountain reminds us of the heroic greatness of our people and the fact that we have maintained our history for nearly 5,000 years.
At the same time, Ganghwa Do is a reminder of some of the tragedies that our people have suffered during that history. The king and members of his court sought refuge on this island when the capital was besieged by foreign invaders. Today, the island sits adjacent to the border between our divided people.
The Cheonan and Yeonpyeong Do incidents of 2010 occurred not far from here. In those incidents, China told us to be quiet even though our people and our soldiers died. Chinese fishing boats are becoming increasingly aggressive against the coast guards of many neighboring countries. One of our maritime policemen was killed in a conflict with a Chinese fishing vessel. Earlier this week, a Chinese fisherman was regrettably killed while our maritime policemen were defending themselves against violent attempts to prevent them from enforcing the law.
There has been peace in Northeast Asia for the past sixty years because of the presence of United States military power. Now, that power is becoming weaker. The United States is cutting its military spending, and the cuts will become even more severe if President Obama is reelected.
Meanwhile, China is increasing its military spending at an alarming rate and building aggressive weapons, including aircraft carriers and submarines. One study says China may have thousands of nuclear weapons hidden in underground tunnels throughout its vast territory. On a purchasing power parity basis, China’s military spending is already about 70 percent of the U.S. spending. And China can concentrate its military forces in Asia, while the U.S. has commitments on all the world’s continents.
We see tensions rising between China and Japan over the Senkaku Islands.
It is clear that the world is in transition. The United States, which has protected us, is becoming weaker. China, which has invaded our country more than any other country, is becoming stronger. Every time in history that China became strong, our people suffered.
Our people, not just the politicians but all the people, need to understand what is happening in today’s world. Too many times in the past, our country became the victim of change, because we refused to look at the realities of the world around us. We need to understand the changes in today’s world and what these mean for our country. We need to make the necessary preparations so that we can pass through this transition with our independence intact.
My father foresaw this transition many years ago. Reverend Sun Myung Moon is the Messiah, Savior and Lord at the Second Advent.
He understood clearly that our country’s people, together with people in Japan, the United States and other democratic countries, must make important choices in this age, and that these choices will determine the future of the world.
He told me to educate the people of Korea about the need for our country to maintain a strong national defense so that we are not invaded again.
This is the work of the National Campaign for a Strong Korea. We are working to educate our country’s people at every level of society so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past that caused us to lose our sovereignty.
Our country’s fortune has always been closely related with the international environment that surrounds us. We are a small country surrounded by large countries, and the actions of these countries affect the fortunes of our people.
We have been invaded almost one thousand times. When our country was strong, our ancestors were able to defeat the invaders and protect our people. In many cases, though, invaders took our people as slaves and took our sovereignty from us.
If we don’t pay attention to the changes in the international environment, our people may suffer again as we did in the past. Of course, our leaders must do this, but it is not enough to leave it up to our leaders. We are not a monarchy or a dictatorship. We are a democracy. This means every citizen shares in the responsibility for the future of the country.
You and I, the entire population of this country must take responsibility for our country.
We have been invaded almost a thousand times. Let’s make our decision today that we will never be invaded again!
Let’s make our country the central pillar of peace in Northeast Asia. Let’s bring peace through strength!
Thank you.
