By Jerome A. Cohen

While the PRC continues to crush human rights in many respects and in many places, on December 10 the Republic of China (ROC) Government in Taiwan marked International Human Rights Day by finally establishing a National Human Rights Institution. As a leading Taiwan NGO, Covenants Watch, emphasizes, this is merely the first step in a very long march, but a significant one called for by many within and outside Taiwan. Much more must be done to create a truly independent and competent institution.

This latest Taiwan accomplishment is significant for many reasons. One is the similarity between the issues involved and those involved in Hong Kong, where a massive demand for the establishment of a truly independent investigative commission has been steadfastly resisted by the Hong Kong Government. The Taiwan government’s imaginative establishment of various panels of foreign human rights experts to periodically critique its progress in accordance with international human rights standards was, as Covenants Watch recognizes, a significant factor in spurring this new but insufficient progress.

It would be very valuable for scholars and journalists to inquire into the nature of the complex political and legal compromises within the ROC executive and legislative branches and between them that were required to reach the limited but encouraging result. I personally have long opposed important participation by the Control Yuan in the supposedly independent human rights investigation process that is needed. I hope that the anticipated details regarding implementation will provide some assurances about the new organization’s independence.