April 23, 2024
On April 22, the United States Department of State published the 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The country report on Taiwan reaffirmed that Taiwan has a functioning democratic political system and that it respects and protects freedom and human rights. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes the United States’ again recognizing Taiwan’s democratic and human rights accomplishments in this annual report.
Taiwan stands on the front line of democratic defense against authoritarianism. It accords paramount importance to protecting the Taiwanese people’s human rights and ensuring that they can exercise their rights and freedoms. It also leverages its high-tech advantages to actively engage with the public and private sectors of like-minded countries. In March this year, Taiwan was invited to attend the third Summit for Democracy, where it shared with the international community its successful use of cocreation and new technologies to counter cyberattacks and cognitive warfare, thereby strengthening democratic resilience and promoting international human rights development.
Later in March, after the Summit for Democracy, Taiwan and the United States convened their fourth Consultations on Democratic Governance in the Indo-Pacific Region. Discussions focused on a number of important issues, including countering foreign information manipulation and interference, enhancing democratic governance in the Indo-Pacific, and demonstrating the resilience of Taiwan’s democracy and civil society. The two sides are deepening partnerships based on the shared values of democracy, freedom, and the rule of law. Taiwan will continue to steadfastly bolster cooperation with the United States and other like-minded countries to jointly safeguard democracy and human rights.
This year’s country report again noted that defamation and public humiliation are criminal offenses in Taiwan and discussed workers’ rights and interests. MOFA has referred the report to the competent authorities.