Taiwan is ranked third in Asia-Australasia and 11th globally among 167 countries and territories in the Democracy Index 2020 released Feb. 3 by London-based Economist Intelligence Unit.
Climbing 20 spots from the previous edition, Taiwan received an overall score of 8.94 out of 10 to finish behind regional partners New Zealand, 4th, and Australia, 9th, but ahead of Japan, 21st, and South Korea, 23rd. Norway, Iceland and Sweden topped the list, in that order.
Among the five categories used to assess democracy, Taiwan tied for first in civil liberties, electoral process and pluralism, and functioning of government; 13th for political culture; and 18th for political participation.
According to the report, Taiwan is the biggest success story of a year that has been marked by regression in many other countries. This was reflected in the decision to upgrade Taiwan from a flawed democracy to a full one, joining Japan and South Korea as the only other recipients of the classification in Asia.
Describing Taiwan as a beacon of democracy, the report said the impressive rise reflects a consolidation of the country’s positive political and legal developments over recent years. These include improving the transparency of political parties’ financing and legislative reforms increasing judicial independence from government influence, it added.
At a time when civil liberties, electoral processes and parliamentary oversight have seen backsliding globally, the report said Taiwan’s January 2020 legislative and presidential elections, as well as the strong voter turnout, demonstrated the resilience of its democracy in the face of China’s threats.
Taiwan’s management of COVID-19 and President Tsai Ing-wen’s leadership have also helped maintain public confidence in the government while avoiding sweeping lockdowns and restrictions on internal movement, the report said. (SFC-E)
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