Taiwan retained its ranking of first in Asia and 10th globally in the Democracy Index 2023 released Feb. 15 by London-based Economist Intelligence Unit.
Receiving an overall score of 8.92 out of 10, Taiwan finished ahead of Japan, 16th; South Korea, 22nd; Malaysia, 40th; and China, 148th. Norway, New Zealand, Iceland, Sweden and Finland topped the list, in that order.
The report assesses a total of 167 countries and territories in five main categories: civil liberties; electoral process and pluralism; functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Taiwan received a perfect score in the second category and high marks of 9.41 and 9.29 in the first and third categories, respectively.
Each country in the report is classified as a full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime or authoritarian regime. Taiwan joined Japan and South Korea as the only full democracies in Asia.
According to the report, 7.8 percent of the world population resides in a full democracy, while 39.4 percent lives under authoritarian rule, a portion that has been steadily increasing in recent years.
The report warned that China’s bellicose behavior in the Taiwan Strait along with its threats to assert its sovereignty over Taiwan by force are generating fears of war in East Asia. It also highlighted U.S. President Joe Biden’s remarks that the U.S. would defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion and his administration’s encouragement of other countries to expand their engagement with Taiwan. (YCH-E)
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