A new US congressional report, Democratic Reforms in Taiwan, says that some events under President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration have raised domestic and foreign concern.
In particular, the report by Shirley Kan, a specialist in Asian security affairs, singles out the heavy police presence to control protesters during the visit of a Chinese official in November 2008 and the “prolonged detention” of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
“Under the ROC’s [Republic of China] Constitution, President Ma has the authority to grant amnesties or pardons,” the report says.
“Since 2008, a question has been whether and when Ma might use this power for former president Chen. Ma has not exercised that option and has not criticized his government, including the Justice Ministry and prosecutors. Ma has opted for distance from Chen’s case,” the report says.
As a result, observers in Taiwan and the US have “raised concerns.”
“A number of professors, writers, activists and ex-officials primarily in the United States have signed open letters on what they called the ‘erosion of justice’ in Taiwan,” the report says.
When the American Institute in Taiwan Director William Stanton met with the minister of justice in September last year and mentioned that some people in the US had commented on Chen’s case, he “encountered controversy in Taiwan’s government and media for supposed US interference,” the report says.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) report concludes that US has played an important role in Taiwan’s transition to democracy by decreasing the nation’s sense of insecurity through arms sales and other contacts.
The US Congress has also helped, the report says, “by pressing the KMT [Chinese Nationalist Party] regime to end authoritarian abuses of power in favor of freedoms for all the people in Taiwan, including the majority Taiwanese.”
The report says that a sustainable democracy helps Taiwan to guard against “undue” Chinese influence as cross-strait engagement has intensified under Ma.
“A Taiwan that promotes values of democracy and freedom would be more likely to be strategically oriented in alignment with the US and US allies in Asia and Europe,” the report says.
The report says the US Congress has a long record of oversight of the human rights aspect of White House foreign policy toward Taiwan.
Congress could enact legislation or take other actions to promote human rights and legal reform in Taiwan, it says.
“Members as well as staff could intensify inter-parliamentary exchanges with Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan and its staff to build up that democratic institution,” it says.
“Congressional and staff delegations could further observe Taiwan’s elections and attend presidential inaugurations” the report concludes.
“In contrast to the Executive Branch which is restricted by the State Department’s guidelines on contact with Taiwan’s officials, Congress could use its greater flexibility in communicating with Taiwan’s officials up to the president to enhance engagement that promotes US values, democracy and rule of law,” it says.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
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