The recent amendment to the Assembly and Parade Law (
The laws are the National Security Law (國家安全法), the Civic Organization Law (人民團體法) and the Assembly and Parade Law. The public might wonder how these three laws are connected. Can groups and associations really threaten national security?
In any democracy, organizing private associations and groups does not have any direct bearing on national security. Article 14 of the Constitution stipulates that "The people shall have freedom of assembly and association." But, influenced by an authoritarian tradition, leaders of this country often regard people's assembly and association as a threat to their power. The Civic Organization Law continues to ring of authoritarianism and is a stumbling block to the universal exercise of the freedom of association in the post-martial-law era.
The Civic Organization Law reflects the confusion over values that prevailed when martial law was lifted. Political groups, namely political parties, face looser regulations and can be set up before government approval. But social groups founded by individuals are governed by rigid regulations and can only be established with prior approval from the government.
To monitor the internal affairs of social groups, the Ministry of the Interior has regulations that impose administrative controls and constraints on matters that ought to be organizations' private matters, such as the rules for elections and recalls. These un-necessary regulations not only hinder the founders of social groups but also make unnecessary work for civil servants.
The Civic Organization Law should be amended to give people the complete freedom of association with minimum supervision by the government. In fact, the UN and many democratic countries have been encouraging non-profit and non-governmental organizations to participate and co-manage increasingly complex public affairs.
The recently proposed national development plans by the Cabinet also stress the development of the "third sector." Under the circumstances, there is even more reason to make amending the Civic Organization Law a top priority; otherwise, with people's freedom of association severely restricted, the potential for creativity in Taiwan's society cannot be fully explored.
The Civic Organization Law should be amended in several ways. Simplify it to reduce government interference as much as possible. Separate regulations should be set up for political parties. Allow groups to form before government approval is given. Lower the threshold for setting up associations and abolish the household-registration requirement for founders.
The limitations that undermine the autonomy of civic groups should be eased. Matters such as the contents of charters, the number of directors and supervisors and election procedures should be decided by civic groups without interference from administrative agencies.
The special punishments laid out in the law should be abol-ished. Regulate civic groups by means of general laws. There is no need to punish irregularities in civic groups with special regulations since the Organized Crime Act (組織犯罪條例) can be used to deal with serious offences.
The Ministry of the Interior should set up a task force to examine possible amendments and hold a public hearing to collect opinions.
While pushing for the amendments, the government should publicly announce that, in a bid to foster a mature civic society, it will encourage rather than repress, and serve rather than direct, civic associations and provide the people of Taiwan with the utmost freedom of association on the basis of trust.
The significance of modern democracy lies in the fact that everyone enjoys basic freedoms and can achieve their goals by cooperating with others. This has been manifested in political parties and business enterprises.
The relaxation of the Civic Organization Law would enable people to fully exercise their rights as "social citizens." Only when this happens can Taiwan really complete the process of democratization.
Ku Chung-hwa is a professor of sociology at National Chengchi University. Chen Hwei-syin is a professor of law at the university.
Translated by Jackie Lin
For Taipei, last year was a particularly dangerous period, with China stepping up coercive pressures on Taiwan amid signs of US President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline, which eventually led his Democratic Party to force him to abandon his re-election campaign. The political drift in the US bred uncertainty in Taiwan and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region about American strategic commitment and resolve. With America deeply involved in the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the last thing Washington wanted was a Taiwan Strait contingency, which is why Biden invested in personal diplomacy with China’s dictator Xi Jinping (習近平). The return of
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has long been a cornerstone of US foreign policy, advancing not only humanitarian aid but also the US’ strategic interests worldwide. The abrupt dismantling of USAID under US President Donald Trump ‘s administration represents a profound miscalculation with dire consequences for global influence, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. By withdrawing USAID’s presence, Washington is creating a vacuum that China is eager to fill, a shift that will directly weaken Taiwan’s international position while emboldening Beijing’s efforts to isolate Taipei. USAID has been a crucial player in countering China’s global expansion, particularly in regions where
Looking at the state of China’s economy this year, many experts have said that weak domestic demand and insufficient internal consumption might be its Achilles’ heel, with the latter being related to culture and demographics. Since Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) took office in 2013, he has been combating extravagance and corruption as well as rectifying a bad atmosphere. China expert Stephen Roach said the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) regulatory crackdown has been targeting Chinese tycoons, such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd founder Jack Ma (馬雲), and opposing what the CCP defines as “excessively extravagant lifestyles,” such as playing too
With the manipulations of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), it is no surprise that this year’s budget plan would make government operations difficult. The KMT and the TPP passing malicious legislation in the past year has caused public ire to accumulate, with the pressure about to erupt like a volcano. Civic groups have successively backed recall petition drives and public consensus has reached a fever-pitch, with no let up during the long Lunar New Year holiday. The ire has even breached the mindsets of former staunch KMT and TPP supporters. Most Taiwanese have vowed to use