Taiwan ranked 12th among 165 jurisdictions around the world and first in Asia in this year’s Human Freedom Index with a score of 8.56, retaining its position from the previous year.
The index, compiled by the Washington-based Cato Institute and the Vancouver-based Frasier Institute, ranked 165 jurisdictions for “personal,” “economic” and “human” freedom in 2021, the most recent year for which sufficient data were available, the report said.
Taiwan scored 7.97 for economic freedom, or ranking 11th in the world — up from 24th in 2020 — and 8.98 for personal freedom, 12th and unchanged from 2020.
Photo: Screen grab from the Cato Institute’s Web site
The report defines freedom as the absence of coercive constraints.
The criteria for economic freedom include size of government, legal system and property rights, sound money — focused mainly on inflation — freedom to trade internationally and regulation.
Personal freedom criteria cover the rule of law, security and safety, movement, religion, expression and information, relationships, and association, assembly and civil society.
Human freedom “deteriorated severely in the wake of the coronavirus [COVID-19] pandemic,” the report said, pointing to “significant declines in the rule of law, freedom of movement, expression, association and assembly, and freedom to trade.”
Taiwan’s scores also declined after consistent rises from 8.31 (28th) in the first year of the index in 2000 to peaks of 8.81 in 2016, when it was 17th in the world, and 2019 (14th).
In 2020 and 2021, Taiwan’s score fell to 8.56, with its economic freedom score dipping below 8 for the first time since the middle of the 2010s and personal freedom dropping below 9 for the first time since the early 2000s.
However, only two main factors showed substantial declines in those two years in the index — freedom of movement, likely due to travel restrictions related to the pandemic, and media and expression as defined by Varieties of Democracy, a Swedish research institute.
In other categories, the scores for Taiwan were largely unchanged.
Switzerland was No. 1 for the fourth year in a row, followed by New Zealand, Denmark, Ireland, Estonia and Sweden (tied for fifth), Iceland, Luxembourg, Finland and Norway.
Japan was the second-highest in Asia at 16th, followed by South Korea (28th), Armenia (33rd) and Singapore (44th).
China was 149th and the lowest-ranked jurisdiction was Syria.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
TPP RALLY: The clashes occurred near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at a rally to mark the anniversary of a raid on former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je People who clashed with police at a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rally in Taipei on Saturday would be referred to prosecutors for investigation, said the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the National Police Agency. Taipei police had collected evidence of obstruction of public officials and coercion by “disorderly” demonstrators, as well as contraventions of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that amid the “severe pushing and jostling” by some demonstrators, eight police officers were injured, including one who was sent to hospital after losing consciousness, allegedly due to heat stroke. The Taipei
RSS