The US State Department says that the existence of “criminal libel laws” is still a significant human rights issue in Taiwan. That came as part of the State Department’s 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which was published on Tuesday. The report evaluates human rights practices in United Nations member states and countries that receive assistance from the US.
The State Department also identified “criminal libel laws” as a human rights problem in Taiwan in last year’s report.
This year’s report says “libel and slander are subject to a sentence of up to two years or a fine” in Taiwan. It says that such “provisions allow the subjects of unfavorable press coverage to press criminal and civil charges directly against journalists and media outlets for defamation.”
However, criminal libel laws aside, the report identified Taiwan as a “democracy led by a president and parliament selected in multiparty elections.” It said Taiwan’s 2020 presidential elections were considered “free and fair.”