Taiwan ranked fifth in Internet freedom worldwide and first in Asia, while China remained at the bottom of the list, an annual report released yesterday by the US nonprofit organization Freedom House said.
Topping this year’s Freedom on the Net report were Iceland, Estonia, Costa Rica and Canada, while Taiwan and the UK tied for fifth during the one-year period that ended in May.
Taiwan retained the same ranking as last year in the Freedom House survey and analysis that ranks countries based on its assessment of obstacles to Internet access, limits on content and breaches of user rights.
Photo from the 2022 Freedom House Freedom on the Net report
Taiwan is an example of how the private sector can work with civil society, government entities and academia to design innovative responses to online danger, the report said.
In Taiwan, which faces a barrage of disinformation that can be traced to China, Japan-based messaging application Line worked with civic groups to develop a tool for users to report false information trending on its platform, the report said.
The government launched a similar coordination effort following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, aiming to track war-related disinformation emanating from China, Freedom House said.
On the other end of the spectrum, China was listed as the worst abuser of Internet freedom for the eighth consecutive year, below Iran and Myanmar.
Internet censorship in China intensified during the Beijing Olympics and after Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai (彭帥) accused a high-ranking Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official of sexual assault, Freedom House said.
The Chinese government has continued to tighten its control over the nation’s booming technology sector, adopting among other measures new rules that require platforms to use their algorithm to promote CCP ideology, the report said.
For this year’s report, Freedom House surveyed 70 countries, which account for 89 percent of the world’s Internet users, and it ranked 17 as “free,” including Taiwan and Japan, while 32 were rated as “partly free” and 21 as “not free.”
Global Internet freedom slid for the 12th consecutive year, with the sharpest downgrades documented in Russia, Myanmar, Sudan and Libya, the report said.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin dramatically intensified its ongoing efforts to suppress domestic dissent and accelerated the closure or exile of the country’s remaining independent media outlets, it said.
In at least 53 countries, users faced legal repercussions for expressing themselves online, which often led to draconian prison terms, said Freedom House, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights.
However, Internet freedom improved in a record 26 countries, the report said.
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
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