Taiwan was rated a “free” nation with a score of 94 points, which ranked it tied 17th among the 210 nations and territories assessed in the latest edition of the Freedom in the World report published on Thursday.
The report for last year, compiled by Washington-based Freedom House, scored Taiwan 38 points out of 40 for political rights and 56 out of 60 for civil liberties.
Sharing top spot were Norway, Finland and Sweden, which each received full marks, while the nations ahead of Taiwan in the Asia-Pacific region were New Zealand (99, fourth), Japan (96, tied 11th) and Australia (95, tied 14th).
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
Meanwhile, China continued to be rated as “not free,” and was tied for 185th with a score of 9 points, the same as the previous year.
“The leaders of China, Russia, and other dictatorships have succeeded in shifting global incentives, jeopardizing the consensus that democracy is the only viable path to prosperity and security, while encouraging more authoritarian approaches to governance,” the report said.
However, a pushback against the Chinese Communist Party’s influence is gaining traction, it said.
Last year, “democratic governments and private actors devoted greater attention to the moral, human rights and national security implications of integration with a regime in China that has become more repressive at home and more aggressive abroad over the past decade,” the report said.
The report said that 60 nations and territories experienced declines in political rights and civil liberties last year, while only 25 improved.
Fewer nations and territories experienced net improvements last year than in any other year since a period of global democratic decline began, the report said, adding that 38 percent of the world’s people live in nations rated “not free,” the highest proportion since 1997.
“Authoritarians are becoming more brazen in their attacks on human rights at home and abroad, which should be a call to action for everyone who values their own rights and the rights of their fellow human beings,” Freedom House vice president of research and analysis Sarah Repucci said.
“Autocrats in Beijing and Moscow want to co-opt the label of ‘democracy’ to boost their own credibility while undermining actual democracy worldwide,” she said, adding that democratic governments must move from rhetoric to action.
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