A human rights report released on Thursday by the US Department of State was generally positive about the situation in Taiwan last year, but said corruption and violence against women and children remained prevalent problems in the country.
In the areas of respect for personal integrity, freedom of speech and the press, civil and political rights, and implementing penalties for official corruption, Taiwan received a positive review in the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011. It said the 2008 presidential election in Taiwan was regarded by international observers as “free and fair” and that independent media in the country “was active and expressed a wide variety of views without restriction.”
Government authorities were also said to be “cooperative and responsive” to the views of human rights groups, which the report said were generally free to investigate and publish their findings on human rights cases.
It also said the rights of prisoners and detainees were protected and there were no reports of authorities using violence against accused people. Authorities generally adhered to the rule against arbitrary arrest and detention, it said.
The annual report also documented authorities positively enforcing laws to protect the equality of Taiwanese.
For example, the law which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities is enforced, it said.
However, it also highlighted the problem of corruption in Taiwan, saying more than 400 officials were indicted on corruption charges in the past year, including 54 high-ranking officials.
In addition, it said the judicial system in Taiwan “suffered from some corruption.”
The impartiality of judges and prosecutors involved in high-profile and politically sensitive cases was being questioned by some political commentators and academics, the report said.
Child abuse also continued to be a “widespread problem,” according to the report. It cited an NGO estimate of 20,000 cases per year of child sexual abuse.
In addition, the report said violence against women, such as rape and domestic violence, “remained a serious problem” in Taiwan. It said the Ministry of the Interior estimated that the actual number of sexual assault cases was 10 times more than what was reported to the police.
The report also said that foreign spouses in Taiwan face discrimination inside and outside of their homes. Forced labor was found in sectors such as caregiving, farming, fishing, manufacturing and construction, it said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS