Taiwan is one of only three free countries in East Asia besides Japan and South Korea, according to the results of the 2007 Freedom in the World survey released on Wednesday by US-based Freedom House.
The survey uses a scale of 1 to 7 to measure the freedom ratings of more than 100 countries and territories in the categories of political rights and civil liberties.
A rating of 1 indicates the highest degree of freedom and 7 the least amount of freedom.
The ratings determine whether a country is classified as "free," "partly free" or "not free."
Taiwan received a rating of 2 in terms of political rights, down one notch from last year, and maintained a rating of 1 in terms of civil liberties.
Both Japan and South Korea performed similarly to last year, scoring 1 in terms of political rights and 2 in terms of civil liberties.
Among Asian countries rated as "partly free," Singapore received 5 for political rights and 4 for civil liberties; Malaysia received 4 for both categories; the Philippines received 3 for both categories and East Timor received 3 for political rights and 4 for civil liberties.
China
Among Asian countries rated as "not free," China scored 7 for political rights and 6 for civil liberties while both North Korea and Myanmar scored 7 in both categories.
Thailand scored 7 for political rights and 4 for civil liberties, Vietnam scored 7 for political rights and 5 for civil liberties, Cambodia scored 6 for political rights and 5 for civil liberties and Laos scored 7 for political rights and 6 for civil liberties.
Meanwhile, Mongolia is rated as a "free" country, receiving 2 for both political rights and civil liberties, while Hong Kong is classified as a "partly free" territory, scoring 5 for political rights and 2 for civil liberties.
More free than not
Worldwide, 90 countries are classified as "free," 58 as "partly free" and 45 as "not free."
By population, a total of 3.04 billion people live in "free" countries, 1.83 billion people are living in "partly free" countries, and 2.45 billion people are living in "not free" countries.
By region, there are 25 "free" countries, nine "partly free" countries and one "not free" country in the Americas.
In Western Europe, there are 24 "free" countries and one "partly free" country.
In the Asia-Pacific region, there are 16 "free" countries, 12 "partly free" countries and 11 "not free" countries.
In North Africa and the Middle East, there is one "free" country, six "partly free" countries and 11 "not free" countries.
In Africa south of the Sahara, there are 11 "free" countries, 22 "partly free" countries and 15 "not free" countries.
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