International assessments

2020: Freedom House listed Taiwan as a free country for the 22nd consecutive year and ranked Taiwan as the second-freest country in Asia after Japan.

2019: According to the United States State Department’s annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, there were no reports of significant human rights abuse in Taiwan. Observers regarded Taiwan’s 2016 general election and 2018 local elections free and fair

 

 

Freedom of religion

2020: Taiwan was invited to join the International Religious Freedom Alliance as an observer.

2019: President Tsai Ing-wen appointed Pusin Tali, a Protestant minister, as Taiwan’s first Ambassador at Large for religious freedom, underscoring Taiwan’s respect for and commitment to the advancement of religious freedom. Ambassador Tali and Taiwan’s Representative to the US Stanley Kao attended the second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in Washington, DC. Taiwan and the US jointly held A Civil Society Dialogue on Securing Religious Freedom in the Indo-Pacific Region.

 

 

Marriage equality

2019: Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan passed a bill that legalized same-sex marriage, making Taiwan the first country in Asia to do so.

2017: Judicial Yuan Interpretation 748 declared provisions in the Civil Code that did not allow two persons of the same sex to create a permanent union of intimate and exclusive nature for the purpose of living a common life unconstitutional.

 

 

Empowering women

2020: Women won 41.59 percent of Legislative Yuan seats. This percentage is the highest in Asia and 20th-highest in the world (compared to those of other countries as listed in the United Nations SDR2020 Indicator profiles). In the 2018 local elections, women took 37.5 percent of all mayoral seats and 33.66 percent of all councilor seats.

2018: Taiwan ranked ninth globally and first in Asia based on the United Nations Development Program’s Gender Inequality Index. Through the adoption of the Act of Gender Equality in Employment, which stipulates equal pay for equal work, the gender wage gap was narrowed to 14.6 percent, making it the smallest gap in Asia.

2016: Tsai Ing-wen was elected Taiwan’s president, making her the first woman to hold this position. She was reelected in 2020.

 

 

 

National Human Rights Commission

2020: The Organic Act of the Control Yuan National Human Rights Commission was adopted in January, with the agency subsequently being established on August 1.

 

 

Incorporation of international human rights conventions into domestic law

2019: A plan to incorporate the terms of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) was presented to the Executive Yuan for review.

2018: A bill to implement the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and the Optional Protocol was submitted to the Legislative Yuan. A bill to implement the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW) was submitted to the Executive Yuan for review.

2017: A bill to implement the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) was submitted to the Legislative Yuan.

2014: The Act to Implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Implementation Act of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) were passed and went into effect.

2011-2012: The Enforcement Act of Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was passed in 2011 and went into effect in 2012.

2009: The Act to Implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) was passed and went into effect.

 

 

National reports under human rights conventions

2020: Taiwan presented its third national reports under the ICCPR and ICESCR, which will be reviewed by a panel of international experts in 2021.

2017: Taiwan presented its third national report under CEDAW.

2016: Taiwan presented its first national reports under the CRPD and CRC.

 

 

 

Human trafficking prevention and migrant workers’ rights

2019: The Human Rights Task Force under the Executive Yuan adopted a resolution to incorporate the International Labor Organization’s Work in Fishing Convention (ILO188, established in 2007) into domestic law.

2009: Taiwan promulgated the Human Trafficking Prevention Act.  From 2009 to 2020, Taiwan has been rated Tier 1 in the US State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report.

 

 

Rights of indigenous peoples

2019: A total of 82 regulatory items have been enacted or amended in accordance with the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law (IPBL) as of 2019.

2016: President Tsai Ing-wen formally apologized to Taiwan’s indigenous peoples for the discrimination they faced in the past.

2006: The IPBL Promotion Committee was established to take stock of related regulations and ensure comprehensive implementation of the IPBL.

2002: The Council of Indigenous Peoples was established.

 

 

Judicial reform

2019: Amendments to the Judges Act were passed to toughen disciplinary action against judges engaging in illegal and unprofessional behavior. This has created a new supervisory mechanism for judges that allows for diverse outside participation, ensures proper procedures, and expedites the disciplinary process, so as to meet the expectations of the public.