President Ma Ying-jeou on the afternoon of January 15 at the Presidential Office met with Mr. Christopher Walker, Director of Studies at Freedom House, an American non-governmental organization. The president appreciated and welcomed the organization's decision to come to Taiwan for the first time to release its Freedom in the World 2009 report. He also pledged to continue to work with Freedom House in the future to further improve political rights and civil liberties in Taiwan.
President Ma said that this marks the first year that Freedom House has announced its Freedom in the World report in Asia since it began with its freedom rankings of countries throughout the world. Taiwan was rated in Level 2 this past year in terms of political rights and in Level 1 for civil liberties. These were the same rankings assigned to Taiwan in the 2007 and 2008 reports. President Ma said these rankings prove that in the eight months since he has taken office, Taiwan's level of political rights and civil liberties have not retreated. The president said, however, that since Taiwan's rating for political rights has yet to rise to Level 1, there is still room for improvement in this regard.
The president noted that Taiwan's ratings over the past several decades have undergone dramatic changes. From 1972 to 1975, Taiwan was rated as a "Not Free" country. Taiwan's rating improved from 1976 to 1996, when it was ranked as a "Partly Free" country. Starting in 1997 and since then, while the ratings for Taiwan have seen some minor changes, Taiwan has ranked as a "Free" country throughout the period. This is the result of the combined efforts by the people of Taiwan and the government, he said.
Freedom House has expressed concern about several judicial cases, especially the cases against former President Chen Shui-bian involving his alleged corruption and money-laundering. In response, President Ma said that the government's attitude toward these cases has been extremely clear. The government, he said, entirely respects the judiciary and is not intervening at all in administering justice. In fact, over the past eight years judicial organizations have brought charges against a total of 75 politicians, fairly equally divided among the blue and green camps. This indicates that judicial agencies are not selectively pursuing cases, he said. The president mentioned that this is something he especially stressed during his inaugural address. President Ma added that Taiwan's path to reaching the status of an emerging democracy has been a long one. However, we have reached an important milestone, he said. He expressed his hopes that in the future Taiwan will continue to move forward in the protection of human rights and freedom.
Mr. Walker said that Freedom House's decision to select Taiwan as the place where it would announce this year's Freedom in the World report was largely due to the vibrant development of democracy in Taiwan. Taiwan is an important new democracy both for the world community and for the Asia region, he said, adding that he hopes this trip will not only foster even greater dialogue, but also highlight the importance of the development of democracy in Asia and shed more light on the democratic discrepancy within Asia. While countries such as North Korea and Myanmar are laggards in human rights, the region is home to highly developed democracies, such as Japan, the Republic of Korea and Taiwan, he said.
President Ma and Mr. Walker then exchanged opinions on democratic trends throughout the world as well as judicial reforms in Taiwan. President Ma reiterated that the government opposes illegal surveillance and supports the legislation of human rights. It also will not intervene in judicial cases, while supporting amendments to the Assembly and Parade Act's notification system. Citing US President George W. Bush's statement calling Taiwan a beacon for democracy in Asia and the world in his congratulatory message to President Ma upon winning the presidential election, the president explained how Taiwan's democracy is sure to have an impact on the public in Mainland China and strengthen yearning among people there for a democratic system.