The government and civil society of Taiwan have been named as the first recipients of Freedom House’s Beacon Award.
Taiwan’s “steadfast efforts to protect their own vibrant democracy, and to support the global struggle for freedom, in the face of escalating pressure from the Chinese Communist Party” helped the nation to earn the award, the Washington-based advocacy group said in a statement on Wednesday.
Former US ambassador to the UK Robert Tuttle on Tuesday presented the award to Representative to the US Alexander Yui (俞大㵢) and civil society representative Chiang Min-yen (江旻諺), the statement said.
Photo from Freedom House’s X
Chiang is a nonresident fellow at the Taipei-based Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology.
At the awards ceremony, Yui quoted President William Lai (賴清德), who in an address on Tuesday on the first anniversary of his presidency said that “Taiwan relied on the participation and coming together of its citizens.”
“We do not fear differences in opinion because the core of democracy is about finding, within difference, unity,” Yui said, quoting the president, in a Facebook post by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US.
Founded in 1941, Freedom House is a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that “works to create a world where all are free,” according to its Web site.
“For more than 80 years, Freedom House has worked to defend human rights and promote democratic change by challenging unjust governments, defending civil liberties at home and abroad, and providing support for frontline activists who bravely strive for fundamental freedoms,” the Web site says.
“Our yearly awards honor courageous individuals and innovative groups that have made significant contributions to the cause of human rights and democracy,” it adds.
In other categories, Maria Corina Machado, the leader of Venezuela’s democratic movement, received the annual Freedom Award, which “recognizes outstanding leaders in the cause of freedom and democracy,” Freedom House said.
The Leadership Award for “principled US leadership on the world stage and support for those on the front lines of the struggle against tyranny” was awarded to US senators Jeanne Shaheen and Roger Wicker.
Server Mustafayev, a Crimean Tatar human rights defender whose arrest by Russian authorities in 2018 was “widely recognized as politically motivated,” received the Alfred Moses Liberty Award, which honors “exemplary courage by political prisoners or outstanding efforts to secure their release,” Freedom House said.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in