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| ===Taiwan under Japanese rule=== | ===Taiwan under Japanese rule=== | ||
| The human rights during the ] experienced dramatic changes with three major phases. After the ] of the ], the ] annexed Taiwan. The early Japanese administration appointed military governors. The colonial policies often limited the human rights of the ]. | The human rights during the ] experienced dramatic changes with three major phases. After the ] of the ], the ] annexed Taiwan. The early Japanese administration appointed military governors. The colonial policies often limited the human rights of the ]. | ||
| After the ] in 1915 and Japan's involvement in ], the colonial governance was gradually liberalized. Taiwan became an extension of the Japanese ] and the ] were educated under a policy of assimilation.{{citation needed}} | After the ] in 1915 and Japan's involvement in ], the colonial governance was gradually liberalized. Taiwan became an extension of the Japanese ] and the ] were educated under a policy of assimilation.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} | ||
| The last phase of Japanese rule began with the eruption of the ] in 1937. As the Japanese became active in international military affairs, its ] rose. Its goal now was to fully Japanize Taiwan. In the meantime, laws were made to grant Taiwanese membership in the ], which theoretically would qualify a Taiwanese to become the prime minister of Japan eventually.{{citation needed}}} | The last phase of Japanese rule began with the eruption of the ] in 1937. As the Japanese became active in international military affairs, its ] rose. Its goal now was to fully Japanize Taiwan. In the meantime, laws were made to grant Taiwanese membership in the ], which theoretically would qualify a Taiwanese to become the prime minister of Japan eventually.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}} | ||
| ===Taiwan under the Republic of China=== | ===Taiwan under the Republic of China=== | ||
Revision as of 20:43, 21 December 2020
Human rights in Taiwan
Human rights in the Republic of China (Taiwan) is codified in the Constitution of the Republic of China. These rights have evolved from the days since the retreat of the Kuomintang (KMT) to the island of Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War in 1949 to the present day.
In the 2000 Taiwan presidential election, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Chen Shui-bian ended more than half a century of rule by the Kuomintang (KMT) and marked the first transition from one political party to another in Taiwanese history, and was also reported by a Government Information Office (GIO) website as the "first ever in Chinese history". This followed gradual democratic reforms since the 1980s and 1990s; most notably, martial law was lifted in 1987, and the Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion were repealed in 1991 for Republic of China Constitution to be effective in Taiwan. The human rights record in Taiwan is generally held to have experienced significant transformation since the 1990s.
The citizens in Taiwan can change their government through elections, although the current system has been classified as two-party system, where the President of Taiwan and its government are usually only changing hands between the DPP and the KMT, while minor parties hardly if ever win a significant amount of seats in the legislature or have its candidate be elected as president.
U.S.-based and U.S. government-funded Freedom House rates Taiwan as "Free", with a 1 in both political rights and civil liberties (scale of 1-7, with 1 being the highest). This represents a significant improvement, as the 1973 rating was almost the opposite at 6.5, rising to 3.1 by 2000. For much of the history of Taiwan, from the retreat from the mainland in 1949 until the 1990s, the state was highly authoritarian and autocratic and high amounts of repression of political and civil rights existed, including executions for political purposes, most commonly known as the White Terror.
However, issues still remain, with human rights groups criticizing Taiwan for its continued use of the death penalty even for some victimless crimes, substandard labor rights, the slow action to curb sex trafficking and "hiring" guest workers from neighboring countries, with some classifying it as de facto slavery due to their harsh living conditions and the high risks of debt bondage.
History
Taiwan under Japanese rule
The human rights during the Japanese rule era experienced dramatic changes with three major phases. After the 1895 defeat of the Republic of Formosa, the Empire of Japan annexed Taiwan. The early Japanese administration appointed military governors. The colonial policies often limited the human rights of the Taiwanese people. After the Tapani incident in 1915 and Japan's involvement in World War I, the colonial governance was gradually liberalized. Taiwan became an extension of the Japanese Home Islands and the Taiwanese people were educated under a policy of assimilation.
The last phase of Japanese rule began with the eruption of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. As the Japanese became active in international military affairs, its militarism rose. Its goal now was to fully Japanize Taiwan. In the meantime, laws were made to grant Taiwanese membership in the Japanese Diet, which theoretically would qualify a Taiwanese to become the prime minister of Japan eventually.}
Taiwan under the Republic of China
Some of the autocracy in early Nationalist China also reflects a continuation of the political attitudes of Taiwan in the early decades after its founding in 1912. Many Chinese leaders, following the thought of Sun Yat-sen, held it necessary to maintain strong centralized control, including a militarized regime, during the early part of the regime's history, feeling that the populace was "not ready" for full democracy. Political repression was heavy during the early Kuomintang-Taiwan period in the mainland under Chiang Kai-shek, who would retreat to Taiwan following the Chinese Civil War.
Additionally, the history of Taiwan after 1945, in terms of political situation and human rights, displays multiple similarities with that of the Republic of Korea (South Korea). Between the end of World War II and the 1980s, a similar degree of autocracy and centralization existed, followed by eventual democratization by two states. Both Taiwan and South Korea went on to become leading economic players in Asia, part of the Asian Tigers, and both are now recognized as relatively free societies with successful human rights developments in most areas.
The Asian values debate, which holds that the political and cultural traditions of Asia justify a certain degree of autocratic rule to enable the rapid economic development of society puts Taiwanese human rights in interesting perspective. These ideas were prevalent among many important leaders in Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and elsewhere with seemingly Western-style democratic Constitutions coupled with authoritarian one-party rule, in the 1990s. Moreover, some in mainland China, including Peking University scholar Pan Wei Bo, feel the most effective and appropriate political structure for the Chinese people is a relatively centralized state under rule of law, with some degree of popular consultation. There are also debates as to the government's right to police social behaviours. For instance, a municipal councillor suggested that Taiwan's low fertility rate could be alleviated by making employers penalise unmarried and childless workers; this suggestion was widely rebuked for its infringement of the rights of the individual.
Capital punishment exists in Taiwan. National police and security agencies are, however, under effective civilian control, although isolated reports of human rights abuse still surface occasionally. Taiwanese residents generally enjoyed a high standard of living and a relatively equitable income distribution. The government generally respected the human rights of citizens; however, there were problems in some areas. Instances of police abuse of persons in police custody, official corruption, violence and discrimination against women, child prostitution and abuse, and trafficking of women and children occurred.
In recent years, Taiwan's laws have focused on combating sexual discrimination, granting greater accommodation to conscientious objectors (Republic of China has obligatory national service), and upholding cultural and linguistic pluralism. In 2001, the Ministry of Justice issued a draft version of the Basic Law On The Guarantees of Human Rights. For significant periods of Taiwan's history, both before and after 1949, when the Republic of China lost control of mainland China while only maintaining control of Taiwan, linguistic and cultural rights for minorities or non-power holding groups were often repressed. For example, local dialects such as Taiwanese (or any other non-Mandarin spoken variants spoken by the Taiwanese) were restricted in the mass media to promote the use of Mandarin as the common language.
Labor rights
The labor movement in Taiwan began in the 1980s near the end of military rule.
Foreign workers
There are more than 700,000 guest workers in Taiwan. Most are from Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. A murky system of recruitment and brokerage agencies leaves foreign workers vulnerable to debt bondage. Most foreign workers live in dorms either inside the factories they work at or on the grounds of these factories. These dorms have faced significant criticism for sub-standard conditions and overcrowding. Up to 30 workers may share a single room, though numbers of four to eight per room are more common. Undocumented workers often have particularly bad living conditions. Domestic workers are required by law to live with their employing family and can not live outside their home. Many carers for the elderly and disabled sleep in the same room as the person they are caring for and lack their own space entirely. Employers in both industrial and domestic setting are allowed to deduct the cost of housing, food, etc from their employee’s wages.
In March 2020, a fire at a factory in Taichung killed three Vietnamese workers living in the onsite dormitory. The incident was criticized as the firefighters response time was slow, and its tragedy had also renewed calls from labor rights activists for the abolishment of onsite dorms for foreign workers.
Taxpayer rights and property rights
Despite the martial law being lifted in 1987, The taxpayer rights and property rights in Taiwan remains a severe social justice issue. In 2019 alone, there were 11.04 million law enforcement occurrences under the name of tax penalty. On average, one out of two civilians has experienced bank accounts being levied or properties being seized by the tax bureau.
A 24-year-long Tai Ji Men case tax case has raised international awareness of civil rights in Taiwan, which is considered an classical tax case in Taiwan. While the Criminal Court ruled Tai Ji Men “not guilty and not owe tax” three times, Administrative Court disregarded all evidence and confiscated Tai Ji Men’s property without articulating how it calculated the Tai Jin Men’s tax or providing a verifiable pertaining tax law. Meanwhile, a government memo documented a discussion between the Administrative Enforcement Agency and the Tax Bureau to split the performance bonus for the Tai Ji Men tax case.
Taiwan‘s two parallel systems, general court and administrative court have weakened human rights in Taiwan. The performance bonus awarded to the Administrative Enforcement Agency who are often with little legal knowledge training is attributed to be the root cause of the tax injustice in Taiwan.
Fishing industry
Taiwan’s high seas fishing industry has bucked the trend of rapid improvement in human rights. Official Taiwanese sources put the number of foreign workers aboard Taiwanese vessels at 26,000 but NGOs and US government agencies put the figure around 160,000. Foreign fishermen frequently report non-payment, long work hours, and verbal and physical abuse at the hands of their captains and officers, who are often Taiwanese.
In 2017 eight foreign crew members were murdered by their officers aboard the Taiwan-flagged fishing vessel Wen Peng approximately 900 nautical miles off the south coast of Sri Lanka. Two were killed on the vessel and six were forced overboard, their bodies were never recovered.
Regulation
Unlike any other industry in Taiwan the distant waters fishing fleet is not within the jurisdiction of the labor ministry but regulated by the Fisheries Agency which also has a mandate to support the industry. This responsibility for championing both the industry and protecting labor has been characterized as a conflict of interest by Greenpeace. In 2017 the Taiwanese Government introduced the Act for Distant Water Fisheries which was intended to increase government control and oversight over Taiwan’s approximately 2,000 distant water fishing vessels. In particular the act sought to safeguard the rights of foreign workers aboard the vessels.
LGBT rights
Main article: LGBT rights in TaiwanTaiwan legalized same-sex marriage after a 2017 court ruling, becoming the first country in Asia to do so. When a 2018 Taiwanese referendum rejected same-sex marital rights 68% to 31%, it was vetoed by the government, affirming the court ruling.
Death penalty
Main article: Capital punishment in TaiwanTaiwan enforces the death penalty by firing squad. It is mandatory for premeditated and aggravated murder and for the possession or trafficking drugs.
Freedom of expression
In 2020, Taiwan denied a Filipino extradition request for a Filipino domestic worker wanted for criticizing President Rodrigo Duterte online. Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs which denied the request stated that she has the same right to freedom of speech while legally in Taiwan as any Taiwanese citizen.
Sex trafficking
Main article: Sex trafficking in TaiwanSex trafficking in Taiwan is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and slavery that occurs in the Republic of China. Taiwan is a country of origin, destination, and transit for sexually trafficked persons.
See also
- National Human Rights Commission (Taiwan)
- February 28 Incident
- Capital punishment in Taiwan
- Censorship in Taiwan
- Corporal punishment in Taiwan
- Sex trafficking in Taiwan
References
- Dignity, Respect & FreedomHuman Rights in Taiwan Archived March 12, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- Archived November 22, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Aspinwall, Nick. "The Danger to Taiwan's High Seas Fishermen". www.maritime-executive.com. Maritime Executive. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- Loa, Iok-sin (26 May 2012). "'Married with kids' proposal draws ridicule". Taipei Times. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
- ^ http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/rights/preface.htm Archived March 12, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- Ho, Ming-sho (2006). "Challenging State Corporatism: The Politics of Taiwan's Labor Federation Movement" (PDF). The China Journal. 56 (56): 107–127. doi:10.2307/20066188. JSTOR 20066188.
- Timmerman, Antonia. "In Taiwan's 'container houses' for migrant workers, coronavirus not the only health risk". www.scmp.com. SCMP. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- Aspinwall, Nick. "Taiwan Factory Fire Kills 3 Foreign Workers After Calls to Abolish On-Site Dorms Go Unanswered". thediplomat.com. The Diplomat. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- Morris, James X. "The Dirty Secret of Taiwan's Fishing Industry". thediplomat.com. The Diplomat. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- "Thousands attend Taiwan's first pride since legalisation of gay marriage". www.theguardian.com. The Guardian. AFP. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- Everington, Keoni. "Taiwan says Filipina caregiver has freedom of speech to criticize Duterte". www.taiwannews.com.tw. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
External links
- 2004 U.S. State Department Report on Human Rights — China (Taiwan only)
- Human Rights in Taiwan - Government Information Office website
- Freedom House 2010 report on Taiwan
- Censorship in Taiwan
- Human rights on the website of the Ministry of Justice - review of the state reports
- TaiJiMen Tax Case
