�The Third Silk Road : A Pluralistic Approach to Culture and Modernity�

I must thank the Comunita di Sant�Egidio, for this opportunity to participate in this International Meeting for Peace in keeping with the �Spirit of Assisi�. It is most inviting to come to Napoli for this meeting as Napoli is a significant city for its history and for its location in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, a crossroad of different cultural and religious traditions. And it is most appropriate that the theme of this Meeting is Faiths and Cultures in Dialogue, as it captures the topics of contentions in this globalised and modern century. The title of my dissertation is :

�The Third Silk Road : A pluralistic approach to Culture and Modernity�

The Human race has witnessed several evolutions and revolutions in the last few millennium. The first was a transformation from dependency on natural resources to human resources � labour and crafts, and it took us thousands of years to get there. It was a social revolution. The second transformation took only a couple of centuries to complete, and we turned from labour to capital resources, assets and money. It was an industrial revolution. The third transformation takes only a few decades, it is the digital or technological revolution and the driving force has shifted from finance to brain power, cultural values or what is called �the soft power�

The concept of �cultural value� is a phenomenon which has arisen as a timely response to the challenges of the 21st century, an era where the concept and content of competitiveness, is given new meaning. With the advent of globalization, the power and influence of a city, or even a country, hinges not entirely on his military might or economic strength in its traditional sense. The defining force has shifted gradually to cultural depth that a country is able to generate. In the absence of a strong culture, what we had achieved in economic terms would be ephemeral, fragile and vulnerable, lacking the depth and breadth to weather the storms and uncertainties that are part and parcel of a highly globalized world. We need to build a community that is creative, cohesive and resilient through creativity in arts and culture, through preservation of our heritage, and through articulation of our historicity, so as to provide us a constant source of inspiration to propel our economy to thrive and advance in the face of fierce competition from different parts of the world.

In the 21st century, international competition takes on the form of cultural competition, namely, how to preserve our distinctive cultures in an age of accelerated modernization and increased globalization. Ladies and Gentlemen, let me tell you why cultural values are important to us. Yes, it is because of its economic value. Yes, it is because of community consensus building. But, most important of all, it is about defining a cultural identity, and of building a modern society that is sustainable for our citizens.

But how is cultural values related to the concept of �modernity� which is a term often too academic, too abstract and theoretical? Understanding �modernity� points to the centre of our concern in our discourse on culture and religion, be it arts policies, or cultural implications of political consideration. As we construct strategies and policies to answer to the needs and aspirations of a modern society, our communities are in turn driven by a modernity which is a collective system of values and a set of moral codes that govern thoughts, establish identity, drive economies, set agendas, dictate choices, and inspire expectations. Most importantly, it underpins how our respective communities of consumers prefer one form of behavoral expression over another form, one type of product over another type, or choose certain categories of cultural goods, or watch films expounding particular direction of story-line. These are the values that motivate our communities in the consideration of what make them happy, beautiful, artistic, creative and what can result in a sense of well-being and national pride. Simply put, values dictate how our people make choices, and behave the way they do. Modernity is moulding our economies and markets which are culturally dependent, and can be influenced and affected by other forces, such as advertisements, mass trend, and various types of persuasions. Simply put, discussions on modernity are a debate of values, cultural values.

We have gradually recognized that what global modernization brings about is not a single modern civilization, but different modern civilizations and modernization is not a synonym for Westernization, but a whole lot more to it than that.

The very success of modernization in non-Western societies in the last few decades, in this case in East Asia, has stimulated the revitalization of our search for identity and cultural expression of modernity.

On the other hand, We, in Asia, cannot ignore the sea changes that were already set in motion in the last century, when the rising tide of Westernization at first seemed as if it threatened to engulf us all, to the point where we viewed Westernization as an inevitable consequence of globalization.

We changed that initial perception. Instead of viewing westernization as a threat, we have seen it as a challenge. And we have, if I may add, mutually and collectively benefited as a result. Because that challenge has acted as a stimulant to our own individual efforts to preserve, fortify, strengthen and renew the � in many cases much older � cultures of the East.

The West has promulgated what it describes as the �universal values� of individual rights, personal achievements, efficiency, equality, freedom and justice and democracy.

We in the East have consistently stressed collective rights responsibilities, strong sense to the community and family, tolerance, acceptance, charity, collective solidarity, discipline and harmony and consensus. The essence of the Asian alternatives is a society built not around individualism, but around a deeply engrained moral code that is the basis for strong family ties, resilient social structures, and closely-knitted community life.

We espouse Western values, but with commitment and responsibility aimed at society rather than the individual. The Western and Eastern values are not mutually exclusive. They complement one another, and make the other set of values more meaningful, more complete, and more sustainable in the long run. Matching the two sets of values would complete a picture of a multi-polar modernity to the global world.

For that reason, modernization is no more a battlefield between two opposing forces than it is a united front that speaks for all. Rather it is a no man�s land in which we can adopt a pluralistic approach, each carving out our own space, learning � even borrowing � from each other, yes, but building our own cultures based on the strong roots that have laid our respective foundations. We can think of them as �Alternative Modernizations�.

The reshuffling of the global order that has accelerated in recent years has given rise to increasing tensions between East and West, between the cultures of Western and Middle Eastern religions. In this arena of potential conflict, we of Asia serve as the third alternative. We can provide room for arbitration by interceding from our standpoint of oriental wisdom and tolerance. For our cultures were never monolithic, but always permeated and leavened by those of others. We can argue against a dichotomy between black and white, by pointing out that there are innumerable shades in between. We can remind others that we do not have to choose between this road or that road, but can elect to pursue our own courses while still remaining, as it were, �fellow travellers�, engaged on the same journey to a common destination.

China is a very embracing race celebrating diversity and tolerating and accommodating different elements no matter how foreign they are. For centuries, China has as its constituents 56 different races. As one looks at history, races came and went, and took turn to rule China. But at the end of the day, 56 races remained intact and coexisted in modern China. China can play its role, and a major part in shaping modernity. We have realized that Chinese modernity is a mission to derive from sufferings a new meaning, to establish a new direction amidst bewilderment and to transform confusion into an awakening. For China, it is a role it is destined to play after returning to the world cultural arena.

Hong Kong, which has over 160-year history of modernization and embraces all the elements of a modern society while upholding the old traditions of the place, can be a vital part in the process.

Indeed, Hong Kong itself is a perfect example of embodiment of the new and the old, the modern and the traditional, the East and the West. The arrangement of �one country, two systems� itself, is another manifestation of this duality of systems of values at play.

Hong Kong provides a safe and fair platform for moulding modernity in this part of the world, for a second chance. Together we can rejuvenate and add values to both Asian and Western cultures. I call it Renaissance in pair. Apart from rejuvenating Western values, we can, at the same time, reinvent the Asian values. A truly modern society is able to distil the essence from both the Western and Oriental values through subtle internalization of a wide array of ideas that are sometimes conflicting. Through manifestation and development, the best of these ideas are fertilized in a creative way that spurs the growth of new meanings in line with the needs of the present times; and, most importantly, through an organic process of selection, the strongest elements are picked out and are able to build from strength to strength. It will be the day, if Hong Kong can neither be the East nor the West, and can neither be one country nor two systems, but a distillation of the quintessence of both. And we in Asia are building such societies within our confines.

Ladies and gentlemen, the alternative modernity unfolding in this part of the world is part and parcel of the truly dynamic drama of the globalization of modernity, or more precisely, the globalization of East-Asian modernity.

Looking back in history, in the Han Dynasty 2,000 years back, we had the first Silk Road set out by Zhang Qian; and in the 15th Century, we had the second Silk Road at sea championed by Zheng He. But in the 13th Century from the opposite direction, we had Venetian geographer Marco Polo striding, across Asia for 24 years in search of the then modern values of the Orient.

The 21st Century will see us embarking on the third Silk Road. The two previous Silk Roads traded tea, silk, spices, exotic fruits, jewellery and gold. The 21st Century Silk Road trades for, apart from creative ideas, creative products and creative talents, it trades values.

This modern Silk Road travels neither by sea nor on land, it doesn�t go from one place to another, but travels through the inner workings of the human minds driven by a desire to captivate the advantages of peaceful competition in this globalized world.

This modern Silk Road provides for occasions when opposing views are exchanged, harsh dialogues carried out, difficulties made understood, enemies sat down to converse ,conflicts become alternatives, and differences reduced and respected.

The modern Silk Road points a direction to the meeting point where Eastern and Western values converges, co-exists, interacts and merges. It is a grey zone neither East nor West, but a blending of both. Once we travel freely and flexibly in and out of this zone of comfort, we can then claim to have become the modern men of the century incorporating the �cutting edge� values of the West and at the same time with consideration for the tolerant embracing values of the Orient.

This Silk Road is our answer and response to globalization of our cultural needs. The purpose of this Silk Road is not to establish an empire of might but to extend our empire of minds.

Along this modern Silk Road, we will witness heated discussions on the safeguarding of world cultural diversity and religious freedom in the context of economic conformity and integration.

Along this modern Silk Road, we will see many rewarding explorations in regional cultural cooperation with a realization that equal attention should be paid to political, economic, cultural and religious dialogue and cooperation in the region and in the world.

The modern Silk Road merges creative markets and aligns cultural and religious policies to form alliances in exploring the commonality among cultures and community values.

This Silk Road sees citizens of different cities and countries sharing common aspirations and inviting one another into their dreams that life is celebrated through cultural pursuits, and our people are enchanted by the arts, enlightened by cultural differences and enriched by social diversity.

This Silk Road teaches people to learn with mutual respect that despite our different backgrounds and upbringings, there are some fundamental values we all hold dear, some basic principles we all respect and certain core understanding we all embrace.

Ladies and gentlemen, I dream of a modern Asia, an Asia with ideas and values to inspire humanity. We all want that the dream of a modern Asia will one day come true. I am sure the Third Silk Road will lead to the rediscovery and reshaping of modernity in Asia, and which signifies the awakening of today�s humanity, and would eventually lead to another Renaissance of our present time.

Thank you very much.