In 1948, the UN announced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, setting a common standard for humanity following World War II.
In modern times the rights to freedom and equality have become the foundation of human rights.
After World War II, countries could be classified into those that advocated liberalism and those that advocated socialism. Liberal countries were based on the right to freedom, while socialist countries prioritized social rights, clashing ideologies that gave rise to the Cold War.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, freedom once again became the foundation of human rights in the form of so-called basic human rights.
The right to freedom also became the foundation on which social rights were built. Without the right to freedom, social rights are hollow.
To communist countries, which trample on the right to freedom, championing social rights is often an excuse to give the state the power to distribute resources or repress liberty.
As liberalism redefines itself in the modern era, some people have divided the concept of freedom into external and internal freedom.
External freedom means that one's values and dignity aren't dominated or infringed upon by others -- and certainly not by state power or agencies. External freedom is therefore freedom unhampered by fear.
Internal freedom concerns the freedom of thought. It means that each person has undeniable rights to self-realization and personal development. The state also has a duty to help people in these efforts.
In other respects, each person has the right to participate in society to stimulate self-growth.
Every person has the right to information, especially correct information.
On this point, neither government nor society should provide false or distorted information. This is a fundamental principle of the right to knowledge and is also the foundation of press freedom.
Fifty or 60 years ago Taiwan's authoritarian government was much like a fascist or communist administration. If the state wasn't using violence to violate the right of individuals to freedom, it was controlling the media to provide false information to strengthen state power.
Even though the regime has changed, the history of infringed human rights has not been thoroughly explored.
Although the government no longer uses state violence to encroach on human rights, when it comes to freedom of the press, the cultural vestiges of the party-state's influence on the media has led to continued misreporting and sensationalization of news that violates the public's right to informed knowledge.
The result is a stain on the spirit of all who consume this material.
Lee Yung-chih is a professor at the Graduate Institute of Taiwan History at National Chengchi University.
Translated by Marc Langer
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has offered Taiwan a paradoxical mix of reassurance and risk. Trump’s visceral hostility toward China could reinforce deterrence in the Taiwan Strait. Yet his disdain for alliances and penchant for transactional bargaining threaten to erode what Taiwan needs most: a reliable US commitment. Taiwan’s security depends less on US power than on US reliability, but Trump is undermining the latter. Deterrence without credibility is a hollow shield. Trump’s China policy in his second term has oscillated wildly between confrontation and conciliation. One day, he threatens Beijing with “massive” tariffs and calls China America’s “greatest geopolitical
On Sunday, 13 new urgent care centers (UCC) officially began operations across the six special municipalities. The purpose of the centers — which are open from 8am to midnight on Sundays and national holidays — is to reduce congestion in hospital emergency rooms, especially during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year. It remains to be seen how effective these centers would be. For one, it is difficult for people to judge for themselves whether their condition warrants visiting a major hospital or a UCC — long-term public education and health promotions are necessary. Second, many emergency departments acknowledge
US President Donald Trump’s seemingly throwaway “Taiwan is Taiwan” statement has been appearing in headlines all over the media. Although it appears to have been made in passing, the comment nevertheless reveals something about Trump’s views and his understanding of Taiwan’s situation. In line with the Taiwan Relations Act, the US and Taiwan enjoy unofficial, but close economic, cultural and national defense ties. They lack official diplomatic relations, but maintain a partnership based on shared democratic values and strategic alignment. Excluding China, Taiwan maintains a level of diplomatic relations, official or otherwise, with many nations worldwide. It can be said that
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) made the astonishing assertion during an interview with Germany’s Deutsche Welle, published on Friday last week, that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not a dictator. She also essentially absolved Putin of blame for initiating the war in Ukraine. Commentators have since listed the reasons that Cheng’s assertion was not only absurd, but bordered on dangerous. Her claim is certainly absurd to the extent that there is no need to discuss the substance of it: It would be far more useful to assess what drove her to make the point and stick so
RSS