TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan ranks second in Asia in terms of freedom, with a score of 94, just behind Japan's 96, according to the Freedom House's Freedom in the World 2024 report released on Thursday (Feb. 29).
The report reveals that global freedom has been declining for the 18th consecutive year, affecting a fifth of the world's population.
It highlights that 52 countries have seen a reduction in political rights and civil liberties, with 21 countries showing improvements.
One of the main reasons for the global decline in freedom for 2023 was identified as electoral manipulations, which led to a decrease in freedom in 26 nations, the report showed.
Taiwan, despite these global trends, has maintained its status as a "Free" nation for this year, achieving scores of 38 out of 40 in Political Rights and 56 out of 60 in Civil Liberties, leading to a composite score of 94.
In contrast, China received an overall score of 9, receiving -2 in Political Rights and -11 for Civil Liberties, condemning it to the status of a "Not Free" country once again, the report noted.
