The first official national human rights report issued by Taiwan’s rightist Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang or KMT) government disappointed civil society and human rights advocates, who have described the document as "an empty shell" and "insincere".
The government yesterday published its first report on human rights based on the UN covenants that are now part of the nation’s legal system. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said the report marked another milestone in Taiwan’s efforts to meet international standards. Ironically, the report, both through its inclusions and omissions, highlights just how far this nation has to go — even as its place on the world stage grows ever smaller and international attention paid to it dwindles.
HEAR NO PROTEST’:Critics said freedom of the press was deteriorating, people’s voices are stifled and there has been little progress on Aboriginal rights or capital punishment.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said his administration would reduce the use of the death penalty as part of efforts to protect human rights, and promised to seek public consensus on the issue to move toward the abolition of capital punishment.
