President Lee Teng-hui said yesterday he has continually promoted the concept of "popular sovereignty" in the hope of eradicating patriarchal elements from local society.

"Patriarchalism should not exist in modern society any longer, and establishing a fair and just society should be our future development goal," Lee said.

The president made the statement during the opening of an exhibition of achievements by local women groups organized by the ROC chapter of the Pan-Pacific and Southeast Asia Women Association (PPSEAWA). The three-day exhibition kicked off at the Taipei International Conference Center yesterday.

Nearly fifty local and international women's groups from the Asia-Pacific Region attended the opening ceremony to exchange their views on women policies and the development of women's rights.

"Half of the population are women and they play a very important role in social stabilization and the country's development," Lee said.

"In order to promote a more complete and better protection system for women, the government will further draft a "Women Policy Blueprint Toward To The 21st Century" to establish a complete women's rights protection system and provide better welfare for women."

PPSEAWA Taiwan Chairwoman Anna Lee, who is the president's daughter and the president of the American School in Taichung, said she hoped that each women's group could better understand the others and the public would know where to get help if they or their children were abused by their husbands.

The exhibition also offers a series of programs and seminars to discuss women's issues, speeches, photo exhibits, traditional singing and dancing performances and the showing of a documentary film recording. Taiwanese comfort women.

Entrance to the exhibition is free. Charity fund-raising will also be held and there will be a daily lottery at 3:30 pm today and tomorrow.