Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and his delegation are visiting Taipei, Tokyo and Seoul from Monday to tomorrow. Youngkin met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), other government officials and industry leaders to bolster Virginia’s economic and cultural connections with Taiwan.
China remains the largest trade partner of Virginia, port records show. Yet the state’s rejection of a joint venture between Ford Motor Co and a Chinese company in January suggests that the businessman-turned-politician might consider entering the Republican primaries for next year’s US presidential election.
Still, Youngkin is surrounded by serious human rights controversies — he enacted 11 executive orders on his first day in office and proposed about US$400 million in tax cuts. He has been a keen supporter of restricting women’s access to abortion and intensifying punishments for criminals.
On June 24 last year, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade and stripped Americans of the right to abortion. State governments are free to decide whether the right to abortion should be guaranteed. Abortion is now totally or near-totally banned in more than half of the states in the US, and many other states have signaled they might enact more restrictions.
Virginia allows abortions within 26 weeks of pregnancy. If an abortion is to be performed after 26 weeks, it requires three doctors’ acknowledgement proving that a continued pregnancy would lead to the woman’s death, or irreparable health or mental damage.
However, Youngkin seeks to reduce that window to 15 weeks, except for victims of rape or cases that pose a fatal risk to the pregnant woman. Such restrictions would force a great number of pregnant women in need of medical assistance to turn to alternative methods and become vulnerable.
When the bill was discussed in the state Congress, even Republican politicians refused to support it, because it was not backed by any doctors. Yet Youngkin insisted on pushing the policy through.
Taiwan has long been excluded from the international community. From a diplomatic perspective, it is good to see a country’s official representatives visit Taiwan.
The nation has always vowed to defend democracy and freedom, and has been proud to be on the same side with countries that respect human rights.
Taiwan took initiatives to pass laws in accordance with UN human rights conventions. For Taiwanese leaders, it might be challenging to adhere to human rights while meeting political figures with dubious human rights records.
If Taiwanese do not want to see women in other countries experience misery due to a lack of access to abortion, the nation must find a way to respond strategically to attacks on human rights around the world.
Chiu E-ling is the executive director of Amnesty International Taiwan.
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