Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/mac/TEXT/HUMANrts/TAIWAN.TXT

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TITLE:  TAIWAN HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995

                             TAIWAN


Taiwan has a constitutional system headed by President Lee
Teng-hui, who was elected by the National Assembly (NA) in
1990.  President Lee, who is also the Chairman of the
Nationalist Party (KMT), appoints the Executive Yuan (EY), or
Cabinet, which has been headed since February 1993 by Premier
Lien Chan.  The Legislative Yuan (LY) approves the selection of
the Premier.  Members of the NA and LY were chosen in free and
fair elections in 1991 and 1992, respectively.  The KMT remains
the country's dominant political force, but two opposition
parties also command considerable public support.

During 1994 Taiwan made significant progress in its transition
to a democratic, multiparty political system--a process which
began with the lifting of martial law in 1987--by holding
generally free and fair popular elections for three previously
appointed positions, the governor of Taiwan province and the
mayors of the cities of Taipei and Kaohsiung, and by passing
constitutional amendments that provide for the direct election
of both the President and Vice President.  The first direct
presidential election is scheduled for 1996.

The Ministries of Interior (MOI), Justice (MOJ), and National
Defense (MND) are responsible for law enforcement relating to
internal security.  The National Police Administration (NPA) of
the Ministry of Interior, the NPA's Criminal Investigation
Bureau (CIB), and the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau
(MJIB) carry out their law enforcement functions in accordance
with laws designed to respect and safeguard individual human
rights.  Reports of occasional abuses by these agencies,
however, continue to exist.  The National Security Bureau and
military police units also play a limited law enforcement role.

Taiwan has a dynamic, free market economy, although state and
party-run enterprises dominate some major sectors, including
finance, transportation, utilities, shipbuilding, steel,
telecommunications, and petrochemicals.  The economy continued
its shift toward the service sector and capital and
technology-intensive industries, due to shortages of unskilled
labor and high domestic labor and land costs.

Although the overall human rights environment improved, there
continued to be human rights abuses.  These included a few
alleged cases of extrajudicial killings and torture by the
security forces, infringements on internationally accepted
standards of due process, restrictions on the freedoms of press
and assembly, child prostitution and abuse, discrimination and
violence against women, restrictions on workers' freedom of
association, and limitations on workers' freedom to strike.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1  Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
           Freedom from:

     a.  Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

There were no reports of political killings.  In October the
family of a Tainan prisoner who died in August accused the
prison staff of beating the prisoner to death and charged that
the authorities were conspiring to cover up the circumstances.
This case was still under investigation at year's end.  In
September the family of a soldier in Kaohsiung claimed that
excessive exercise he was ordered to undertake as a form of
punishment caused his death.  A legislator raised this incident
in an emergency interpellation to the Ministry of National
Defense, but it remained unresolved at year's end.

Several cases of extrajudicial killing from 1993 were
resolved.  In January a military court sentenced a lieutenant
and four sergeants to prison terms ranging from 18 months to 12
years for torturing to death Chen Shih-Wei in July 1993 at a
military reformatory on Green Island.  In March the Taichung
district court sentenced the deputy chief of Taichung city's
third police precinct to 10 years in prison for the torture
death of a rape suspect in August 1993; four other policemen
were acquitted for lack of evidence.

In October the Taipei Shihlin district court ruled that the
death of Wang Kang-Lu, Secretary General of the World United
Formosans for Independence, in an October 1993 Taipei car crash
was an accident rather than a "political assassination" as
charged by his family and supporters.  The driver of the
vehicle which struck the taxi in which Mr. Wang was riding and
the taxi driver were both sentenced to prison, for 20 months
and 8 months respectively, for negligence resulting in death.
Also in October, the Taipei district court sentenced four
wardens at the Taipei detention center to from 14 to 30 months
in prison for torturing a homicide suspect in September 1993.
Although the suspect later died, the judge ruled that the death
resulted from a preexisting physical condition rather than from
torture.

     b.  Disappearance

There were no reports of disappearances.

     c.  Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
         Treatment or Punishment

There were credible reports that police occasionally physically
abused persons in their custody.  In addition to claims that a
prisoner was beaten to death in Tainan (see Section l.a.), a
deaf-mute university student indicated at a press conference in
August that Taoyuan county police tortured him because he was a
suspect in the murder of a female college student.

The authorities did make efforts to investigate, prosecute, and
punish officials responsible for torture and other
mistreatment.  Although the basic responsibility for
investigating mistreatment lies with prosecutors, the Control
Yuan (CY), an equal government branch which investigates
official misconduct, investigated several such cases during the
year.  In one major case in August, the CY criticized the
Taipei city police for arresting under "emergency procedures"
three young men suspected of involvement in a 1988 kidnaping
and murder case, holding them for arraignment for 24 hours
without notifying their relatives and using violence and
threats among other interrogation tactics.  The CY impeached
four Taipei city policemen for using "violence, threats,
temptation, and cheating" while interrogating one of the
suspects and three superior officers for allowing the
misconduct.  The case was referred to the Judicial Yuan (JY),
the equal branch of government comprising the national judicial
system, for decision and remained under review at year's end.

While the 1993 torture death of a suspect in Taichung resulted
in the conviction of the offending policeman (see Section
l.a.), two other cases of police torture of suspects in 1993
remained under investigation without indictments being issued.
However, progress was made in dealing with an earlier case.
The Taichung district prosecutor indicted the former criminal
investigation team leader from Taichung county's Fengyuan
police subbureau for torturing four suspects in a 1990 murder
case; the suspects were later found not guilty.  In April the
Judicial Yuan's Committee on the Discipline of Public
Functionaries ordered the former chief of the subbureau
suspended from duty for 1 year and the former chief of the
subbureau's criminal investigation section discharged from
public service without possibility of being rehired for 2 years
for their failure to prevent the torture.

The law allows suspects to have attorneys present during
interrogations, primarily to ensure that abuse does not take
place.  The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) claims that each
interrogation is recorded and that all allegations of
mistreatment are investigated.  Lawyers and legal scholars note
that abuses most often occur in local police stations where
interrogations are not recorded and when attorneys are
generally not present.  Detainees who are physically abused
have the right to sue the police for torture, and confessions
obtained through torture are inadmissible in court
proceedings.  No such suits were reported during 1994.

Although corporal punishment is forbidden under military law,
there continued to be occasional reports of physical abuse of
military personnel.  In addition to the case involving possible
excessive punishment resulting in a soldier's death in
Kaohsiung (see Section l.a.), newspapers reported the cases of
an air force member in Taichung beaten by superiors for going
outside the unit's chain of command and a Taoyuan air force
conscript who suffered maltreatment and harassment during
training which resulted in his mental breakdown.  Although the
Ministry of National Defense denied the accuracy of both
stories, it noted that a number of management steps had been
taken to reduce the problem of abuse in the military, including
setting up centers within all military units to hear complaints
about mistreatment.

Some international human rights organizations have criticized
the continuous shackling for months of prisoners awaiting
executions and the "harvesting" of organs from executed
prisoners for transplants.  MOJ officials claim that shackles
are necessary because such prisoners are considered to be
dangerous and the prisons are not sufficiently secure.  The MOJ
states that the requirement for both a prisoner and his family
to consent to organ donations reduces the likelihood of
donations being forced.

Prison overcrowding at Taiwan's 43 detention centers remained a
problem despite some expansion of existing facilities and
amendment of the Criminal Code in January to allow prisoners to
be paroled after serving one-third, rather than one-half, of
their sentences.  The more than 50,000 inmates in detention
exceed the facilities' maximum capacity by 15,000.  The Justice
Minister blamed overcrowding for an October riot at Hualien
prison which left 20 injured; the prison, reportedly designed
for 1,151 inmates, houses 2,000.  According to the MOJ, the
number of prisoners has grown rapidly in recent years because
of increased arrests of narcotics law violators who now make up
30 percent of the overall inmate population.  The MOJ is
setting up drug treatment facilities to reduce the number of
addicts in the prison population.

Conditions at detention camps for illegal immigrants continued
to be poor.  The Entry and Exit Bureau admitted that the three
detention camps are overcrowded but blamed mainland Chinese
authorities for delays in accepting the timely repatriation of
illegal immigrants.  Mainland detainees spent an average of 113
days in detention.  An expansion project for the centers is
under way.

In July a group of 12 black inmates, almost all from African
countries, at the San Hsia illegal aliens detention center
claimed that 6 policemen had beaten and tortured a black inmate
the previous month.  They also charged the camp's police with
racial discrimination and ill-treatment of the black inmates.
The National Police Administration (NPA) claims there is no
discrimination against any detainee because of religion, race,
color, or language.

     d.  Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

Police may legally arrest without a warrant anyone they suspect
of committing a crime for which the punishment would be
imprisonment of 5 years or more and may question persons
without a formal summons.  The authorities must, within 24
hours after detention, give written notice to the detainee, or
a designated relative or friend, stating the reason for the
arrest or questioning.  Indicted persons may be released on
bail at judicial discretion.

The Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) specifies that the
authorities may detain a suspect for up to 2 months during the
investigative phase before filing a formal indictment.  The
prosecutor's office may extend the investigative detention for
one additional 2-month period.  A suspect may be held for up to
3 months during trial proceedings, and the court may extend the
trial detention for two additional 3-month periods.  The
authorities generally have followed these procedures, and
trials usually take place within 3 months of indictment.

The authorities generally respect a detainee's request to have
a lawyer present during the investigation phase, but defense
lawyers continue to complain that people often are not advised
of their right to have legal representation during police
interrogation.  In addition, there is no legal requirement that
indigent people be provided with counsel during police
interrogation, although such counsel is provided during trials.

A continuing departure from international standards of due
process is the secret witness system under the "Antihoodlum"
Law.  This system allows police to conduct "sweeps" of
suspected "hoodlums" and use the testimony of unidentified
informants in detaining the suspects.  Lawyers for the alleged
hoodlums are not permitted to cross-examine these informants.
While defense attorneys have been given the right to examine
documentary evidence, critics charge that evidence in these
cases is often weak or fabricated.  Although the testimony of
the secret witnesses is included under the criminal statutes
for perjury, critics claim that the detainees often lack the
means to prove perjury.

The Judicial Yuan (JY) claims that the secret witness system is
required to wipe out hoodlums and maintain social order and
security.  The system is not used in normal criminal
procedures; "antihoodlum" punishments are "administrative
procedures."  Based on evidence provided by the police, a
specialized court determines whether or not an accused hoodlum
should receive reformatory education.  This decision may be
appealed by the accused to a higher court.  Courts may not
determine the length of reformatory education; reformatory
authorities make this decision based on the behavior of the
detainee.  The usual term is 3 to 6 months for a first offense,
and detention of repeat offenders may be extended for up to 3
years.

Critics say that these specialized courts simply rubber-stamp
police decisions, and while virtually all detainees appeal
their sentences, most remain unchanged.  According to JY
statistics, of the 1,763 hoodlum cases referred to the special
courts in 1993, 73 percent (1,287) were determined to warrant
reformatory education.

     e.  Denial of Fair Public Trial

The Judicial Yuan (JY) is one of the five equal branches of
Taiwan's political system.  It consists of a President, a Vice
President, and a 16-member Council of Grand Justices.  It
interprets the Constitution as well as laws and ordinances.
Subordinate JY organs include the Supreme Court, high courts,
district courts, the Administrative Court, and the Committee on
the Discipline of Public Functionaries.  The Constitution
provides for equality before the law.  Judges, rather than
juries, decide trials.

All judges are appointed by, and responsible to, the JY.
Although some in the past have characterized the judiciary as
not fully independent and as susceptible to political and
personal pressure, most observers believe the judiciary now is
generally independent and impartial.  The only public criticism
in 1994 came from illegal radio station owner Hsu Jung-Chi who
claimed his convictions for inciting illegal demonstrations
were a form of political persecution (see Sections 2.a. and
2.b.).  To strengthen judicial autonomy, under its new
president, Shih Chi-yang, the JY began a 1-year trial reform
program in November which includes having each district's
presiding judge elected by the district judges rather than
appointed from above.

The law provides for the right of fair public trial, and this
is generally respected in practice.  Taiwan's legal system does
not provide for trial by jury.  In a typical court case,
parties and witnesses are interrogated by a single judge but
not directly by a defense attorney or prosecutor.  The judge
may decline to hear witnesses or to consider evidence a party
wishes to submit if the judge considers it irrelevant; refusal
to hear evidence can be a factor in an appeal.  Trials are
public, but attendance at trials involving juveniles or
potentially sensitive issues which might attract crowds may
require court permission.

A defendant has the right to an attorney.  If the defendant is
suspected of committing a crime for which the penalty is 3 or
more years' imprisonment, or if the defendant is disabled or
elderly, the judge may assign an attorney.  Criminal law
specifically provides the defendant with protection from
self-incrimination.  Persons convicted in cases in which the
sentence exceeds 3 years have the right to appeal to the high
court and to the Supreme Court.  The Supreme Court
automatically reviews life imprisonment and death sentences.

     f.  Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
         Correspondence

The Constitution and sections of the criminal and civil codes
contain provisions for privacy.  The authorities generally do
not make warrantless searches, which were common before the
lifting of martial law.  A warrant, issued by a prosecutor or a
judge, must be obtained before a search, except when incidental
to arrest.  Critics, however, claim that the "incidental to
arrest" provision is not only unconstitutional but often
interpreted broadly by police to justify searches of locations
other than actual sites of arrests.  Moreover, police continue
to search cars routinely at roadblocks.

According to the National Police Administration, warrantless
searches are allowed only in specialized circumstances, such as
to arrest an escapee or if facts indicate a person is in the
process of committing a crime and the circumstances are
urgent.  In any such case, the police must file a report with
the prosecutor or court within 24 hours.  Evidence collected
without a warrant, according to regulations, is not excluded
from introduction during a trial; however, a policeman who
carries out an illegal search can be sued for illegal entry and
sentenced up to 1 year's imprisonment.

Although in the past allegations were made that police and
security agencies interfere with the right to privacy through
such means as surveillance and interception of correspondence
and telephone calls, there were no reports of such interference
for political purposes in 1994.  According to EY regulations,
judicial and security authorities may file a written request to
a prosecutor's office to monitor telephone calls to collect
evidence against a suspect involved in a major crime.

Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

The Constitution provides for freedom of speech, teaching,
writing, and publication, but some restrictions exist in
practice, especially in relation to Taiwan's electronic media.
During the year, the authorities continued the measured steps,
begun in 1993, to liberalize the previously tight control by
the authorities and the KMT over broadcast television and radio.

In August the Office of the High Court Prosecutor formally
dropped sedition charges against Shih Ming, the last of the
major dissident leaders, who had returned to Taiwan illegally
in 1993 after more than 40 years' exile in Japan.  The
prosecutor determined that Mr. Shih had not tried to overthrow
the Taiwan authorities with threats or violent acts (see also
Section 2.d).  The dropping of sedition charges against Mr.
Shih officially confirmed the end of Taiwan's four-decade-long
"wanted list" of sedition suspects.

In 1992 the Taiwan authorities revised sedition statutes to
eliminate provisions outlawing "conspiracy" to commit sedition
and to limit the purview of the Sedition Law to cases involving
violence or threats.  After the revision, the authorities
released all prisoners convicted on sedition charges and
dropped pending sedition cases.

Also in 1992, the Taiwan authorities revised the National
Security Law (NSL), removing prohibitions on "actions against
the Constitution."  However, the NSL--and related statutes such
as the Civic Organizations Law and the Parade and Assembly
Law--still retain prohibitions against advocating communism or
espousing the division of national territory.

Taiwan has a vigorous and active free press despite the
Publications Law which empowers the police to seize or ban
printed material that is seditious, treasonous, sacrilegious,
interferes with the lawful exercise of public functions, or
violates public order or morals.  There were no reports of
censorship of the print media during the year.  Nor were there
seizures of materials on political grounds, although the police
conducted raids to seize pornographic materials.

In February the Government Information Office (GIO) reiterated
that any publications imported from mainland China should be
sent to the GIO Publications Department for screening before
sale or publication in Taiwan.  The GIO bans the importation of
publications which advocate communism or United Front
organizations, endanger public order or good morals, or violate
regulations or laws.  However, few local publishing companies
observe this regulation.  The Department estimated that 10,000
copies of mainland publications are imported annually.

In a well-publicized libel case, four professors found guilty
in 1993 for leading a boycott against a newspaper they alleged
slanted its reporting in favor of mainland China and against
Taiwan were successful in their appeal.  In August the high
court reversed the lower court verdict and affirmed the
defendants right to criticize the media.  The high court,
however, rejected a libel suit filed by one of the defendants
against the newspaper involved.

The KMT, the Taiwan provincial government, and the military
continue to operate the three island-wide broadcast television
stations and to be their largest shareholders.  The GIO claims
that these stations are really civilian businesses since the
authorities control less than half of their stock shares.  The
GIO notes that their programming is guided by the market rather
than the GIO or the KMT and that they rely on revenues from
commercials and services rather than public funds.  Critics,
notably the two principal opposition parties, claim that
coverage on the three broadcast television stations has been
slanted to favor the KMT viewpoint and that reports on
sensitive subjects, such as opposition demonstrations, have
been similarly biased.  A breakthrough occurred in October when
a leading newspaper and one of the television channels
sponsored a live debate among the three Taipei mayoralty
candidates--Taiwan's first televised debate among election
candidates.

More than three-fourths of Taiwan's radio frequencies have been
held by the authorities, the KMT, and other noncommercial
entities.  In the past, the Taiwan authorities claimed only 12
of the 33 radio stations legally operating were owned by
military and civil agencies, but they counted among ostensibly
"private" stations such entities as the KMT-controlled
Broadcasting Corporation of China.

Past refusals by the authorities to approve requests to
establish new radio and television stations led to the
establishment of a number of illegal underground cable
television and radio stations.  Many of these stations
broadcast in the Taiwanese dialect rather than in Mandarin and
reflect the views of or support for the opposition Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP).

In 1993 the authorities began a multiyear process to loosen
controls on television.  The LY passed a Cable Television Law
dividing the island into 51 districts, each of which is allowed
up to five local cable television companies.  By the end of
1993, more than 600 previously illegal cable television
operations had registered with the GIO to legalize their
operations under interim cable television regulations, which
apply until the Cable Television Law takes full effect.  The
authorities are also setting up a new public television network
to begin operation in 1995.  In addition, two more broadcast
television frequencies are being made available.

Also in 1993, the GIO began a five-stage process to open radio
frequencies.  In the first two stages, the GIO approved
licenses for 24 20-kilometer-range FM stations; included were 6
pro-DPP stations, 3 of which were already operating illegally.

Critics charge that the limited broadcast ranges of the new
television and radio stations do not constitute a counterweight
to the authorities' monopoly on island-wide broadcasting.  Some
critics have also been concerned that the KMT, with its vast
economic resources, or large corporations will try to control
these new "investment arenas."

The authorities' control of the media continued to be a
volatile issue.  On July 30, GIO staff members and 6,719
policemen raided 14 underground pro-DPP radio stations across
the island for operating illegally; included was the
antiestablishment "Voice of Taiwan" (VOT) in suburban Taipei.
The underground radio supporters and the DPP claimed that the
raids infringed on freedom of the press and the people's right
to know, and were designed to muzzle the opposition on the eve
of sensitive negotiations between Taiwan and mainland China as
well as stifle debate prior to the December elections.

In an August 1 demonstration in Taipei protesting the raids,
hundreds of demonstrators attacked the GIO headquarters and
other public and KMT buildings.  More than 30 demonstrators and
police were injured.  Reporters and cameramen were targeted for
attack by the demonstrators who feared being identified from
news films.  Twelve demonstrators were indicted for violations
of the Parade and Assembly Law (see also Section 2.b.),
interfering with public functions, and causing bodily harm;
four were sentenced to from 3 to 5 months in prison (a sentence
which may be converted to a fine).  Charges against the others
were dropped for lack of evidence.  In a separate incident a
few days later, a GIO staff member involved in the July 30
raids was stabbed and severely injured on his way to work.
Four suspects were indicted in December upon completion of the
investigation into the incident and face trial.  The violence
continued into October when six to eight persons broke into the
VOT studios and used baseball bats to smash broadcasting
equipment and beat staff members.  The VOT claimed the attack
was carried out by plainclothes policemen, a charge which was
never substantiated.

In response, GIO Director General Jason Hu tried to encourage
underground stations to become legal by announcing in August
that the GIO would lower the minimum capitalization costs
required for 99 new 5-kilometer-range community radio stations
from approximately $2 million to $40,000 and accelerate the
pace of the licensing process for these stations.  In December
the GIO approved 46 of 174 applications for the community radio
stations, including 10 from already operating illegal stations.

Among other restrictions regulating the media are those
precluding people previously convicted of sedition from owning,
managing, or working in television and radio stations.
However, major opposition leaders, many of whom were convicted
of sedition after the December 1979 Kaohsiung incident, are not
affected because their rights were restored through
presidential amnesties.

The authorities lifted controls on the percentage of time
television and radio stations could broadcast in dialects in
1993.  Although the Taiwanese dialect is the mother tongue of
most of the island's inhabitants, the authorities had
previously required that 80 percent of broadcasting be in
Mandarin.  Broadcasting is now done in Mandarin, Taiwanese,
Hakka (television and radio), and aboriginal dialects (radio
only).

There appear to be few restrictions on academic freedom.  The
expression of dissenting political views is common.  However,
school authorities still sometimes pressure schoolteachers to
discourage students from joining demonstrations.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly and
association, but the Taiwan authorities restrict these rights
somewhat in practice.  The Civic Organization Law requires all
civic organizations to register; however, the authorities have
refused to approve registration of some groups--such as the
Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR), the Taiwan
Association of University Professors, and the Taiwan
Environmental Protection Alliance--which use the word "Taiwan"
in their titles (a usage which is regarded by the authorities
as promoting Taiwan independence).  These groups, however,
continue to operate.