Political and judicial rights in China did not make any progress this year, the annual report by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy said.
The China Human Rights Report 2007: Observations on Political Rights and Judicial Rights, released by the foundation yesterday, was composed by Chen Chun-ju (陳純如), a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the National Chengchi University, and Fort Liao (廖福特), a legal researcher at Academia Sinica.
Chen, in charge of the section on political rights, said the most prominent breaches occured in freedom of speech, violations of the personal safety of political dissidents, tightened control of the media and the Internet, repression of press freedoms and suppression of human rights movements.
Responsible for the section on judicial rights, Liao said he was frustrated by China's record on rights concerning personal liberties and dignity, fair trials and the proper implementation of laws.
On personal liberty and dignity, Liao said Amnesty International had written an open letter to the National People's Congress calling on Beijing to end the reeducation system, but it has not received any response.
Chinese inmates do not receive fair trials, which should include the presumption of innocence, the right to defense, equal and public trials and the right to appeal and compensation, he said.
"China still has a notoriously high execution rate," Liao said.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
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