Taiwan has again been rated a “free” country in the People Power Under Attack 2020 report released Dec. 8 by South Africa-based Civicus, a global civil society alliance comprising organizations spanning local and international levels.
According to the report, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage in May 2019 due to the joint efforts of the government and civic actors. It also staged a major pride parade in June, demonstrating tremendous progress in Asia, where bisexual, gay and transgender groups still face serious discrimination.
In addition, Taiwan established a National Human Rights Commission in August, a milestone described by President Tsai Ing-wen as part of government actions to promote and protect human rights and fulfill its commitment to meeting the Paris Principles.
The report also identified areas of concern for Taiwan where reforms are required. These include laws combating misinformation and governing people’s rights to hold peaceful assemblies.
Among the 196 countries and territories surveyed based on the fundamental freedoms of association, expression and peaceful assembly, only 42 are rated open, including Canada, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Sweden and Portugal.
A total of 40 countries such as Australia, Italy, Japan, France, Spain, South Korea and the U.K. are rated narrowed, while 47 are considered obstructed, 44 repressed and 23 closed.
According to the report, 87 percent of the world’s population now lives in countries rated as closed, repressed or obstructed, while over a quarter live in countries like China and Saudi Arabia with the worst rating closed. (SFC-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw