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.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
RSS