ROC President Ma Ying-jeou praised Thailand-based ECPAT International, recipient of Taiwan’s top human rights honor Dec. 10, for its efforts in combating the sexual exploitation of children.
“ECPAT International is a well-deserved recipient of the honor as it has been a mainstay over the years in protecting children from sexual exploitation and promoting the rights of the young,” Ma said.
Ma made the remarks while presenting the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy’s Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award, along with a grant of US$100,000, to Maureen Crombie, chairman of the ECPAT International. The Taipei City-held event, which coincided with International Human Rights Day, was attended by Wang Jin-pyng, TFD chairman and ROC Legislative Yuan president, and David Y. L. Lin, ROC minister of foreign affairs.
ECPAT International has worked with the U.N. Children’s Fund, U.N. Economic and Social Council, and countries around the world in stamping out child prostitution and trafficking for sexual purposes since 1991, Ma said. The organization also launched the Youth Partnership Project in 15 countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal and Thailand to raise public awareness on ending sexual exploitation of children, he added.
“Without human rights, there is no democracy. Human rights know no borders and are a universal value that the ROC government strives to protect.”
The president highlighted Taiwan’s achievements in upholding human rights, including fighting child abuse and the sexual enslavement of children, as well as the ratification of the U.N. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Such measures have garnered recognition worldwide, Ma said, citing Taiwan’s Tier 1 classification in the U.S. State Department’s 2012 Trafficking in Persons Report for the third consecutive year.
The TFD, an ROC government-funded nonprofit organization tasked with promoting the development of democracy, launched the award in 2006 as a way of recognizing individuals and groups for their efforts in protecting human rights.
Separately, the Presidential Office issued a statement on International Human Rights Day, underlining progress in the nation’s judicial reform and freedom of speech.
Evidence of Taiwan’s human rights progress include a 96.1 percent prosecution conviction rate, up from 89.3 percent in 2001, Presidential Office spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi said, adding that this is ironclad proof of an improved judicial system.
On the issue of freedom of speech, Fan Chiang said the government would not comment on the recent acquisition of Hong Kong’s NextMedia by a Taiwan consortium. “This is an issue being addressed by independent media industry regulator National Communications Commission.”
Fan Chiang’s remarks follow the disclosure that Tsai Eng-meng, chairman of Want Want China Times Group, is one of the major contributors to the NT$17.5 billion (US$601 million) acquisition of NextMedia. The purchase has given rise to public concerns over the creation of a media monopoly in Taiwan. (JSM)
Write to Rachel Chan at ccchan@mofa.gov.tw