Reporters Without Borders, an international organization dedicated to protecting freedom of the press and the rights of journalists, won the Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award, a prize set by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.
President Chen Shui-bian (
Lin Wen-cheng (林文程), the executive of the foundation, yesterday announced the winner of the award, which was created this year to honor individuals or organizations that contribute to human rights and democracy in Asia.
Reporters Without Borders is the first organization to receive this honor, which comes with a US$100,000 prize and a medal.
Lin said that a total of 20 individuals and organizations -- including Chinese activists and academic groups from southeastern countries -- competed for the award. He said that to avoid controversy the foundation could not reveal the names of the competitors.
Lin said that Reporters Without Borders obtained votes from Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian human rights activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, Bernard Kouchner, the co-founder of Doctors Without Borders and former director of France's Department of Health, and Huang Qi (黃琦), the founder of China's first Web site promoting human rights.
"Although Reporters Without Borders is not an organization based in Asia, it devotes itself to encouraging freedom of the press and protecting human rights and personal security of journalists in the world. Its work extends to the human rights movement in China and has made outstanding accomplishments in rescuing human rights activists who were persecuted or jailed," Lin said.
The organization has branches all over the world and works in close cooperation with advocates of freedom of the press.
The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy is a non-profit and semi-official organization dedicated to the promotion of democracy and human rights in Taiwan and abroad.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-Pyng (王金平) serves as the chairman of the foundation and Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) is the vice chairman.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said
RSS