The EU on Wednesday reiterated its strong opposition to the death penalty in annual human rights talks with Taiwan, as part of an agenda that also included LGBT issues, and the rights of migrant workers and Taiwanese arrested abroad.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the third annual EU-Taiwan Human Rights Consultations were conducted by videoconference, in what the sides called in a joint statement a “friendly, open and constructive atmosphere.”
Aside from providing updates on their respective policies to advance human rights, they also discussed other issues of ongoing concern.
The EU registered its opposition to an execution Taiwan carried out on April 1, and “called on Taiwan to reinstate a de facto moratorium and pursue a policy towards the abolition of the death penalty,” the statement said.
The EU also said Taiwan should strengthen protections for migrant workers, particularly domestic caregivers and workers in the fishing industry, to guarantee that they are not subject to discrimination or exploitation.
Taiwan said it was concerned about protecting the rights of Taiwanese arrested or detained in the EU, the statement said, apparently referencing efforts by Beijing to have Taiwanese criminal suspects extradited to China.
Taiwan also addressed the situation of rights advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲), who has been serving a five-year prison term in China since 2017 on charges of subversion of state power.
Regarding LGBT rights, the EU mentioned Taiwan’s progress since legalizing same-sex marriage last year, the statement said.
Minister Without Portfolio Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) attended the talks on behalf of Taiwan and three senior officials from the European External Action Service — Marc Giacomini, Luisa Ragher and Jonathan Hatwell — represented the EU.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS