Taiwan maintained its status as a “free” country and the second freest in Asia in the latest annual report released yesterday by the Washington-based democracy watchdog Freedom House.
With an overall score of 93 out of 100, down 1 point from a year earlier, Taiwan ranked second in Asia behind Japan, which scored 96, the Freedom in the World 2026: The Growing Shadow of Autocracy said.
The report assessed access to political rights and civil liberties in 195 countries and 13 territories from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 last year.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
Taiwan scored 38 out of 40 in political rights and 55 out of 60 in civil liberties.
Taiwan’s vibrant and competitive democratic system has enabled regular, peaceful transfers of power since 2000, while protections for civil liberties remain generally strong, Freedom House said.
However, the nonprofit organization also flagged concerns, including insufficient protections for migrant workers and efforts by the Chinese government to influence policymaking, media and democratic institutions in Taiwan.
Globally, freedom declined for the 20th consecutive year, which Freedom House described as a grim milestone, citing military coups, violence against peaceful protesters and attempts to erode constitutional safeguards.
Finland topped the global rankings with a perfect score of 100, while South Sudan ranked last with zero.
Among the 88 countries rated “free,” the US recorded the sharpest decline, with its score falling 3 points to 81 — its lowest level in more than 50 years — though it remained classified as “free.”
The drop reflected legislative dysfunction, a concentration of executive power, growing pressure on freedom of expression and weakened anti-corruption safeguards under US President Donald Trump, Freedom House said.
Elsewhere in Asia, China remained categorized as “not free,” with a score of 9, while Hong Kong was rated “partly free” with a score of 41.
Bolivia, Fiji and Malawi were upgraded from “partly free” to “free,” citing competitive elections, improved judicial independence and the strengthening of rule of law, the report said.
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