Freedom House, a US government-sponsored non-profit organization advocating for democracy, political freedom and human rights, yesterday announced that it plans to open an office in Taipei.
In a Twitter message, Freedom House said the upcoming Taipei office is expected to become a hub for the organization in the Indo-Pacific region.
“Freedom House looks forward to expanding our presence in Taiwan, which remains one of Asia’s most robust democracies,” it wrote on Twitter.
“The [Taipei] office will enable us to expand and deepen our collaboration with individuals and groups supporting human rights and democracy across the Indo-Pacific region,” it added.
On its Web site, Freedom House, the first US organization to champion the advancement of freedom globally, said it has advocated for “US leadership and collaboration with like-minded governments to vigorously oppose dictators and oppression, and strengthen democracy around the world.”
According to Freedom House’s financial report last year, the US government was its most important financial sponsor, accounting for about 92 percent of its funding.
China in 2019 slapped sanctions on several US pro-democracy and human rights groups, including Freedom House, for their support of protests in Hong Kong against a controversial bill that would have allowed extradition of suspects from Hong Kong to mainland China.
To facilitate democracy, freedom and human rights and assess the degree of democratic freedoms in countries and significant disputed territories around the world, Freedom House publishes an annual Freedom in the World report.
In this year’s edition, published in February, Taiwan scored 94 points, unchanged from last year, retained its status as a “free” country and ranked 17th in the world.
Taiwan scored 38 points out of a maximum 40 for political rights, and 56 out of a maximum of 60 for civil liberties, the report said.
In Asia, Taiwan only trailed Japan, which scored 96 points and placed 11th worldwide.
China was rated a “not free” country, again, and ranked 185th with a score of 9 points, unchanged from last year, after scoring minus-2 points in political rights and 11 in civil liberties.
Freedom House has 12 field offices in eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
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