The latest edition of US-based non-governmental organization Freedom House’s Freedom in the World report ranks Taiwan as the second-freest nation in Asia, with a total score of 93 points, the same as last year.
Taiwan garnered 37 out of 40 points in political rights and 56 of 60 in civil liberties, and maintained its “free” rating, the democracy watchdog’s Web site showed.
The report is to be published on Wednesday next week in Washington. It designates nations and territories as “free,” “partly free” and “not free” based on political rights and civil liberties.
Taiwan was second only to Japan (96 points) in Asia and ranked 25th among 195 nations and 15 territories assessed, the Web site showed.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the ranking proves that Taiwan’s adherence to the values of democracy, freedom and human rights is recognized by the international community.
The ministry said that it would continue to work with like-minded countries to promote these values, and contribute to democracy and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and worldwide.
While the latest narrative on Taiwan was not yet available, last year’s report described the nation as a “vibrant and competitive” democracy that has allowed peaceful transfers of power between rival parties since 2000.
In a prelaunch news release on Thursday, Freedom House said the state of political rights and civil liberties worldwide is deteriorating.
“Countries that suffered setbacks in 2019 outnumbered those making gains by nearly two to one, marking the 14th consecutive year of deterioration in global freedom,” it said.
The report also found a global erosion in government commitment to pluralism.
SILENCING CRITICS: In addition to blocking Taiwan, China aimed to prevent rights activists from speaking out against authoritarian states, a Cabinet department said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned transnational repression by Beijing after RightsCon, a major digital human rights conference scheduled to be held in Zambia this week, was abruptly canceled due to Chinese pressure over Taiwanese participation. This year’s RightsCon, the world’s largest conference discussing issues “at the intersection of human rights and technology,” was scheduled to take place from tomorrow to Friday in Lusaka, and expected to draw 2,600 in-person attendees from 150 countries, along with 1,100 online participants. However, organizers were forced to cancel the event due to behind-the-scenes pressure from China, the ministry said, expressing its “strongest condemnation”
Taiwan’s economy grew far faster than expected in the first quarter, as booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications drove a surge in exports, spilling over into investment and consumption, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. GDP growth was 13.69 percent year-on-year during the January-to-March period, beating the DGBAS’ February forecast by 2.23 percentage points and marking the most robust growth in nearly four decades, DGBAS senior official Chiang Hsin-yi (江心怡) told a news conference in Taipei. The result was powered by exports, which remain the backbone of Taiwan’s economy, Chiang said. Outbound shipments jumped 51.12 percent year-on-year to
DELAYED BUT DETERMINED: The president’s visit highlights Taiwan’s right to international engagement amid regional pressure from China President Willaim Lai (賴清德) yesterday arrived in Eswatini, more than a week after his planned visit to Taiwan’s sole African ally was suspended because of revoked overflight permits. “The visit, originally scheduled for April 22, was postponed due to unforeseen external factors,” Lai wrote on social media. “After several days of careful arrangements by our diplomatic and national security teams, we successfully arrived today.” Lai said he looked forward to further deepening Taiwan-Eswatini relations through closer cooperation in the economy, agriculture, culture and education, as well as advancing the nation’s international partnerships. The president was initially scheduled to arrive in time to celebrate
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) yesterday said the US faced a choice between an “impossible” military operation or a “bad deal” with Tehran, after US President Donald Trump disparaged Iran’s latest peace proposal. Negotiations between the two countries have been deadlocked since a ceasefire came into effect on April 8, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far. Iran’s Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported that Tehran had submitted a 14-point proposal to mediator Pakistan, but Trump was quick to cast doubt on it. “I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but
RSS