China often claims that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China, citing shared roots. However, the political systems and human rights practices on both sides of the Taiwan Strait differ drastically. A recent report from a human rights organization shows that China ranks at the bottom of several human rights indicators, while Taiwan stands out, performing above the average for many countries.
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative, a human rights group based in New Zealand, invites human rights workers and scholars to assess the human rights situation in countries around the world based on internationally recognized human rights standards and publishes scores. China scored only 1.9 points for basic human rights such as freedom of assembly, association, and expression, surpassing only Saudi Arabia, but tied with Bangladesh for second-to-last among the 38 countries assessed. China also scored only 2.3 points for personal integrity rights, such as freedom from arbitrary arrest or enforced disappearance, surpassing Mozambique and Kenya and ranking third from the bottom among the 37 countries. The report points out that China's respect for basic human rights and personal integrity is significantly below average, particularly for fundamental rights such as citizen participation in politics, which scored only 1.9 points, indicating that many people in China do not enjoy the political freedoms and rights they deserve.
Taiwan, by contrast, ranked second and first in fundamental human rights and personal integrity, respectively. Taiwan also achieved perfect scores in indicators such as respect for the death penalty and religious belief. The report noted that this demonstrates that the majority of Taiwanese enjoy political freedom and fundamental human rights, and that Taiwanese citizens are more empowered than in other countries.
