Earlier this month Taiwan concluded a United Nations-type review of its implementation of the two principal human rights treaties, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). It is the first time Taiwan has undergone an outside, comprehensive evaluation of its human rights record in a wide range of areas. Although this on-site review received little international or local media attention, its effects on the island’s human rights should not be underestimated.

On January 14, 2012, President Ma was announced as the winner of the Taiwan presidential election. Professor Jerome Cohen’s commentary on the election results appeared throughout Taiwanese media.

Professor Cohen’s December 12, 2011 meeting with Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou was widely covered by the Taiwan media. They spoke about the importance of human rights issues in China for future cross-strait relations. President Ma acknowledged Professor Cohen’s contribution on the rule of law developments in Taiwan and China and also commended the U.S.-Asia Law Institute for serving as a bridge between scholars from Taiwan and Mainland China.

Professor Cohen’s December 17, 2010 meeting with Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou was widely covered by the Taiwan media. President Ma discussed Taiwan’s economic development after ECFA, trade relations with Singapore and the Diaoyu Islands amongst other topics.
Chinese broadcast from Radio Taiwan International / 中央广播电台报告

When evaluating the impact of Friday’s award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, there are at least six audiences to consider, in addition to the Laureate himself: China’s Communist Party leaders, who stifle dissent to maintain their power; legal elites caught between Party policies and rule of law requirements; a congeries of dissidents and “rights activists” for whom Liu has now become the foremost symbol; the far larger and even more diverse community of intellectuals struggling to reconcile China’s traditions, “Westernization”, nationalism and universal values; the broad masses who had never before heard of Liu or the Charter ’08 democracy manifesto that he helped draft and that was ultimately signed by roughly 10,000 people; and the outside world that has once again been stimulated to focus on the nature of China’s political system.