President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of December 10 with Cass R. Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard Law School. In addition to briefing his visitor on Taiwan's efforts to defend human rights, President Ma stressed that the government will continue working to promote peace, humanitarian principles, and democracy, acting as a peacemaker and a provider of humanitarian aid in the international community.
In remarks, the president noted that Professor Sunstein is a top US institutional law scholar whose research interests include law, political philosophy, and behavioral economics. He has taught at the University of Chicago and Harvard, and served as administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. He thus combines thorough academic training with considerable real-world experience, said the president, expressing hope that during his visit to Taiwan the professor would provide suggestions regarding economic, political, and social development.
President Ma pointed out that the Republic of China (ROC) was founded in 1912 as the first republic in Asia, but years of warfare and tumult ensued, delaying the implementation of constitutional rule until the government relocated to Taiwan. The ROC Constitution, amended seven times, is now closely aligned with current needs. In addition, said the president, all the seats in Taiwan's national legislature, frozen for decades, were put up for re-election in 1989, five direct presidential elections have been held, and there have been two peaceful handovers of political power between different political parties. All of these developments mark significant progress in the march to democracy in the ROC, which is now a fully democratic nation.
President Ma mentioned that December 10 is observed the world over as Human Rights Day, and even though Taiwan already enjoys democracy and human rights, the country also endured 38 years of martial law, which wasn't lifted until 1987. During the martial law period, free speech and human rights were often suppressed. Many people were imprisoned or even killed, which is why the government for the past 20 years has promoted transitional justice, seeking—through apologies, legislative action, erection of historic monuments, and restoration of the good names of the wrongly accused—to heal the wounds suffered by victims and their family members.
President Ma pointed out that in 1995 the national legislature passed the February 28 Incident Disposition and Compensation Act, and the government established the 228 Memorial Foundation to process applications for compensation. As of August 2015, the Foundation had approved over 2,200 applications involving payouts totaling NT$7.2 billion. In addition, the government in 1998 promulgated the Compensation Act for Wrongful Trials on Charges of Sedition and Espionage during the Martial Law Period in order to address the wrongs suffered by victims of the White Terror era. A fund established under the provisions of that act has thus far paid out a total of approximately NT$19.7 billion in compensation.
The president further indicated that the government has established the Jing-mei Human Rights Memorial and Cultural Park and the Green Island Human Rights Memorial Park, two of the very sites where people were tried and imprisoned during the martial law period, thus extolling the value of human rights.
President Ma mentioned that the ROC signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1967, but later lost its seat at the United Nations (UN), and was therefore unable to deposit the instruments of ratification for those two covenants with the Secretary-General of the UN. Nevertheless, after taking office in 2008, the president stated, his administration immediately carried out the relevant procedures. The UN Secretary-General, however, rejected the ratification documents we submitted. The government then turned instead to the passage of an enforcement act that incorporates those covenants into domestic law. We also implemented the Enforcement Act of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 2012, and the Enforcement Act of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 2014. The government has thus devoted extensive effort to incorporating the various international human rights covenants into domestic law, and the international community can see that the ROC firmly believes in protecting human rights.
President Ma cited the Freedom in the World 2015 report by Freedom House, a US-based non-governmental organization, stating that Taiwan was rated a free country with a score of "1" in the political rights category, the best score, and also rated a "2" in civil liberties.
President Ma stressed that Taiwan, unlike other nations, frequently encounters diplomatic roadblocks and difficulties in conducting international relations, but has never flagged in its promotion of peace, humanitarian principles, and democracy. In the future, declared the president, we will continue to act in the international community as a peacemaker and provider of humanitarian aid.