Taiwan: Country moves up press freedom rankings while demonstrations held against opposition bills and on other issues

The state of civic space in Taiwan is rated as ‘open’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. This means the state has created an enabling environment for people to enjoy their civic freedoms. Civil society is able to operate and undertake their work without harassment or undue interference. People are free to hold protests in public places and form associations. There is also a relatively free media, and journalists are able to do their work without any major restrictions.

This is also echoed by Freedom House in their "Freedom in the World" report which rates Taiwan as free with a score of 94 out of 100 total points. It stated that the news media are generally free, reflecting a diversity of views and reporting aggressively on government policies. Freedom of assembly is generally respected in practice and protests are regularly held, while NGOs typically operate without harassment or undue interference.

On 13th January 2024, Taiwan voted for Lai Ching-te to be its next president, ushering in a historic third term in power for the pro-sovereignty Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). However, the ruling party failed to hold onto its parliamentary majority. No party won an outright majority in the 113-seat Legislative Yuan, with the main opposition party and pro-Beijing Kuomintang, or KMT, winning 52 seats in the legislature while the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) has eight seats.

On 20th May 2024, Lai Ching-te was sworn in as Taiwan’s sixth democratically-elected president. He stressed Taiwan would make no concessions on its democracy and freedoms and called on Beijing to “stop its aggression against Taiwan”.

On the same day, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisations in Taiwan, Covenants Watch and Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR), wrote to the President outlining 12 human rights priorities for his presidency including revising the Assembly and Parade Act and the Civil Associations Act to bring them into line with international standards on freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association.

In recent months, Taiwan’s press freedom ranking improved in the rankings issued by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). There were also protests by civic groups, activists working on the Ukraine and Tibet, Indonesian migrant workers as well as against bills proposed by the opposition.

Expression

Taiwan moves up press freedom rankings

In the latest World Press Freedom Index issued by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on 3rd May 2024, Taiwan was ranked 27 out of 180 countries, moving up the ranks by eight places.

RSF stated that the authorities generally respect the principles of media freedom, and for a market of almost 24 million people, Taiwan has a rich media environment with around 600 TV and radio broadcasters.

However, journalists still suffer from a very polarised media environment and some journalists have been targeted with lawsuits in recent years, as well as being verbally attacked in connection with their reporting.

Peaceful Assembly

In recent months, multiple protests were documented in Taiwan on a range of issues. All were held peacefully.

Protest against pro-Beijing speaker

On 2nd February 2024, a coalition of young people joined by civic groups gathered outside the legislature to protest Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) speaker nominee Han Kuo-yu. Holding placards with the slogans “We oppose the pro-China speaker” and “Refuse the Chinese Communist Party agent”, the protesters convened at Chelam Presbyterian Church.

Former Kaohsiung Medical University Student Union chair Kao Fan-hsi led the protest, together with representatives from the Green Party Taiwan, Taiwan Young Greens, Su Beng Education Foundation, Taiwan 228 Care Association and several university student organisations.

Police attempted to evict the demonstrators, resulting in brief scuffles in the morning, but they refused to move citing unlawful police action against the right of assembly, and that authorities must not infringe against freedom of religion since they were on church grounds. The groups later dispersed peacefully.

Demonstration to mark anniversary on invasion of Ukraine

On 24th February 2024, Ukrainians in Taiwan, joined by others supportive of their cause, rallied to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to New Bloom, around two hundred attended the rally which began in the northwest corner of Daan Park, and marched westward to Liberty Plaza, also known as the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial.

A speaker truck led demonstrators through Taipei. The speaker truck played Ukrainian songs as it proceeded. Part way through the march, participants were invited to take part in a performance to show what it is like to live under conditions in which Russian air strikes take place regularly. At Liberty Plaza, there were a number of talks from Ukrainian and Taiwanese speakers.

Tibetan groups march to mark anniversary of uprising

In March 2024, Tibetan groups marched to mark the 65th anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day. Tibetan Uprising Day refers to the uprising that took place on 10th March 1959 against China’s invasion and subsequent annexation of Tibet. Each year, Tibetan groups worldwide commemorate the anniversary with demonstrations, marches and rallies.

According to New Bloom, the march in Taiwan started in front of the SOGO by the Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT. Among the Tibetan organisations that coordinated the rally were the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan and Students for a Free Tibet – Taiwan.

Many Taiwanese civil society groups participated in the demonstration. This included the Taiwan Labour Front, Covenants Watch, the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Dr. Chen Wen-chen Memorial Foundation, Amnesty International Taiwan, and the Judicial Reform Foundation.

Indonesian workers protest broker system

About 30 Indonesian migrant workers gathered outside the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office (IETO) to Taipei on 19th May 2024 to demand better protection of their rights and the abolition of the broker system.

During the rally, Indonesians working in the caregiving and manufacturing sectors urged the IETO to put an end to the broker system and improve the office’s services. Holding signs with slogans such as “stop overcharging” and “Sunday service every week,” they shared experiences of what they described as poor treatment by brokers or the IETO.

The broker system was legalised in 1992 to introduce overseas workers to employment opportunities in Taiwan, manage the workers and help them process any necessary documents while in Taiwan.

Protest outside parliament around opposition bills and violence

A spontaneous protest took place outside the Legislative Yuan on 18th May 2024, drawing hundreds of young people. According to New Bloom, the protest took place against actions by the opposition, aimed at pushing through a number of legal changes.

Specifically, the Kuomintang (KMT) aims to require the president to report to the legislature and make a state of the nation address, as well as to respond to a question-and-answer session from lawmakers. The DPP was willing to allow for a state of the union address but hesitant about the question-and-answer session, likely realising that the opposition would aim to press Lai into making comments that could potentially be used as pretext for retaliatory measures by China directed at Taiwan, whether in terms of military threats or economic coercion.

Likewise, the KMT aims to grant new prosecutorial powers to the legislature, allowing legislators to summon government officials or members of organisations for questioning by investigatory committees. Those who refuse could be subject to criminal charges on the basis of “contempt of the legislature.” Concerns are that the opposition would use such measures to politically target individuals, using the vagueness of such charges to do so. Such powers could also be used to try and undermine the operations of the Lai administration.

The KMT stoked outrage because the text of the bills had not been publicised and the KMT tried to push the bill through a second reading without a line-by-line reading of the text on the floor of the legislature. The DPP has framed this as the KMT circumventing committee review. Further angering protesters was violence used by the KMT against DPP legislators, with three hospitalised as a result of fighting in the legislature.

In the following days, the protests have grown with organizers claiming that on 22nd May 2024, more than 30,000 people had gathered.