CNN program GPS on Sunday featured Taiwan as a ‘bright spot’ in the world due to its strong democracy and handling of COVID-19. That’s as many parts of the world saw a regression in their states of democracy.
The program host, Fareed Zakaria, cited the latest Democracy Index report by the Economist Intelligence Unit. It ranked Taiwan as the 11th best democracy in the world and the most democratic country in Asia. That was a leap of 20 spots in the global ranking since 2019, the highest jump of any country.
Zakaria highlighted Taiwan’s presidential election in 2020 which saw a voter turnout of 75% and a peaceful acceptance of election results by the losing candidate.
The CNN host said the internet is without censorship in Taiwan and can be easily accessed by its people. He said it comes as no surprise that Taiwan has one of the most free online environments in the world, ranking it 5th in Freedom House’s Freedom on the Net 2021 report.
Zakaria also mentioned the Sunflower Student Movement in 2014, where college students opposed a cross-strait trade agreement with China. He said protestors took to the streets and occupied the Legislature, eventually bringing a stop to the trade pact.
Taiwan has also contained the COVID-19 pandemic well, and Zakaria said Taiwan’s response to the COVID situation boosted the public’s trust in the government. Taiwan only has about 16,000 COVID cases compared to Australia, which has about the same population but case numbers five times higher than Taiwan.
Despite these remarkable strengths, the report said Taiwan also faces many challenges from China. This includes military intrusions, disinformation campaigns and diplomatic isolation.