Taiwan’s first-ever report on the implementation of the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) marks a milestone in Taiwan’s human rights development, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday.
The report assesses the government’s compliance with the convention by evaluating legislation, institutions, policies and education efforts, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) told a news conference at the agency in Taipei.
Lo, who is the convener of the Cabinet’s Human Trafficking Prevention and Racial Discrimination Elimination Coordinating Meeting, said that the report was conducted to ensure the nation is observing the treaty’s standards.
Photo: CNA
It is one of nine major conventions that make up the UN’s core human rights covenants and the sole treaty among them that the Republic of China fully adopted before it left the international body in 1971, Lo said.
As a ratified and promulgated treaty, it has the force of domestic law, which the government is duty-bound to implement, he said.
In 2020, the Cabinet finalized plans to implement the ICERD, tasking the Ministry of the Interior with executing measures and making a report of its progress every three years, he said.
Advancing human rights is as important to the nation as economic development, he said.
Although Taiwan is not a UN member, the nation continually strives to comply with international norms and takes pride in promoting the human rights covenants of its own volition, he said.
The Cabinet conducted its examination of human rights in Taiwan according to the standards the UN would have utilized to evaluate a member state, with adjustments to fit local conditions, he said.
“People are not born in equal circumstances, but the human aspiration for equality is universal,” he said.
The interior ministry consulted multiple government departments and 34 non-governmental organizations in the evaluation process, Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥) said.
Taipei’s promulgation of ICERD emphasizes indigenous cultural preservation and justice, revitalization of the language and culture of ethnic minorities, and the promotion of human rights, Immigration Affairs Division head Huang Ling-yu (黃齡玉) said.
The report assesses the effectiveness of the government’s measures to promote equality for ethnic minorities, including indigenous, Hakka, Mongolian and Tibetan peoples, as well as new immigrants and migrant workers, she said.
An evaluation of Taiwan’s compliance with the covenant by international observers is planned for publication in 2024, she said, adding that the government is in the early stages of preparations to determine the makeup of evaluators.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential