In January, Human Rights in China visited Taipei to observe the Taiwanese election and connect with other human rights stakeholders in the region. During our visit, we were honored to meet with Taiwan’s National Human Rights Commission, a governmental body whose duty is to protect and defend human rights in Taiwan by investigating incidents, producing reports, and collaborating with government and civil society. HRIC’s Executive Director Zhou Fengsuo shared his personal experiences as a human rights activist and discussed HRIC’s recent activities, and Vice Chairperson Tsai Chung-Yi and colleagues shared some of Taiwan’s current challenges, such as fighting disinformation from China. Furthermore, we discussed the importance of human rights advocacy in the process of Taiwan’s democratization.

Commissioner Tien Chiu-chin specifically mentioned of the case of leading human rights lawyer Wang Yu, whose case Executive Director Zhou has a personal connection with, as he was involved in efforts to rescue her son from China in 2015 after the 709 Crackdown. Tragically, her son was kidnapped and repatriated by Chinese police from Myanmar, in another example of transnational repression by the CCP. Executive Director Zhou and Commissioner Tien took a picture together, holding a page on Wang Yu from the Commission’s human rights report.

While HRIC’s work focuses on China, we believe that Taiwan is a key partner and ally in our mission to defend human rights broadly, protect Chinese human rights defenders and activists, and push back against the CCP’s transnational repression. HRIC is pleased that our meeting with the Human Rights Commission yielded a productive dialogue that we hope to continue in the upcoming months.

HRIC Executive Director Zhou Fengsuo with Commissioner Tien Chiu-chin.