The 56th APLFD Conference
The 56th Conference of the Asian Pacific League for Freedom and Democracy (APLFD) was held on June 7 to 11, 2010 at the Sheraton Hotel in Incheon, South Korea. Under the theme of “Stabilization in Asia Pacific Region and World Peace”, the conference was organized by the Korea Freedom Federation. This APLFD annual meeting was held jointly with the 2010 general conference of the World League for Freedom and Democracy (WLFD)
The conference was held under the background of a 60th anniversary of the Korea War, which was broke out on June 25, 1950; and the Cheon An Incident occurred on March 26,2010, when 46 South Korean naval servicemen were killed after North Korea sunk the South Korea war ship Cheon An in the Yellow Sea.
An Executive Committee meeting was held on June 8, prior to the Opening of the Conference. At the meeting, Mr. Park Chang Dal, President of the Korea Chapter, was elected as the APLFD Council Chairman for 2010-2011, and as Chairman of the 56th APLFD Conference. At the same meeting, an APLFD Award was presented to General Guillermo Pecache, President of the Philippines Chapter, for his life-long contribution to the League since the 1960s. And before the meeting concluded, a resolution was adopted to condemn North Korea for the Cheon An Incident.
The joint Opening was held in the afternoon of June 8 at the Songdo Convention Center by the Sheraton Hotel. President Lee, Myung Bak, of the Republic of Korea, sent his congratulatory message through
video, to welcome all the guests from afar. The Opening was attended by some 1,200 people.
On June 9, the plenary meeting and symposium were held before the joint conference was closed in the afternoon. On June 10, the Host Chapter organized a tour for the delegates to visit the Korea War Memorial Hall and the Freedom Center in Seoul, before all the guests departed on June 11.
Under the leadership of Mr. Park, Chang Dal, and the efforts of the Host Chapter, the Korea Freedom Federation, the joint conference was one of the most successful gatherings in the League’s history. The conference was attended by delegates from 61 countries, with some 200 participants were from overseas.
From the APLFD, a total of fifteen member chapters and observer units were represented at the annual meeting. They were : Australia, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippine, Singapore,
Taiwan (ROC), Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Guam and Cambodia.