TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The US gave Taiwan a pass grade for its human rights practices on Tuesday.
The “2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices” looks at recognized human and worker rights around the world. The Department of State submits reports on UN member states and all countries receiving assistance.
In its executive summary, the US stated there had been “no significant changes in the human rights situation” in Taiwan, no credible reports of human rights abuses, and the authorities had enforced the law to prevent human rights abuses.
The report found no record of arbitrary or unlawful killings during 2024, or forced sterilizations. There were no government abductions, torture, and child labor laws were largely respected.
It found the Constitution protected freedom of expression, adding: “An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to promote freedom of expression, including for media members.”
As for workers’ rights, the report found the “law provided for the right of workers to form and join independent unions, conduct strikes, and bargain collectively.” However, it did add that the right to strike was “highly restricted” and underlined that teachers and civil servants could not strike.
Furthermore, “Wage and overtime violations were most common in the manufacturing, domestic car, and fisheries sectors employing migrant laborers; however, white-collar workers also faced overtime violations.”
The report continued that about 793,000 migrant workers were employed in Taiwan and the authorities provided reasonable laws and oversight, though there were questions over problems related to working hours and overtime. Even so, “Migrant fishermen were commonly subjected to mistreatment and poor working conditions.”
Elsewhere, the rights report received criticism for being rewritten and biased in favor of the US’ allies, while escalating disapproval of perceived enemies.
The BBC commented the report reduced “coverage of issues including government corruption and persecution of LGBTQ+ individuals. State Department officials say it was ‘restructured’ to ‘remove redundancies’ and ‘increase readability.’”
