Taiwan’s Attempts to Enact an Asylum Law: Navigating Politics, Public Opinion, and Human Rights

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F61989592%3A15210%2F24%3A73628643" target="_blank" >RIV/61989592:15210/24:73628643 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://taiwanhumanrightshub.org/2024/11/22/asylum/" target="_blank" >https://taiwanhumanrightshub.org/2024/11/22/asylum/</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Taiwan’s Attempts to Enact an Asylum Law: Navigating Politics, Public Opinion, and Human Rights

Original language description

Taiwan, as a non-United Nations (UN) member, is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention—key international treaty that defines who qualifies as a refugee, their rights, and the legal obligations of states to protect them. It also lacks a domestic refugee law. Consequently, individuals seeking protection—whether self-identified refugees or those already recognized by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)—are processed on a case-by-case basis. This approach often results in inconsistent outcomes and places a significant burden on civil society organizations, which are left to provide essential support, such as accommodation, medical care, and psychological counseling, relying solely on their own resources. This fragmented system is far from a systemic solution, underscoring the urgent need for comprehensive asylum legislation. Despite this, officials, including former President Tsai Ing-wen or former Premier Su Tseng-chang, maintain that existing regulations are sufficient. However, adopting an asylum law would mark a significant step toward aligning Taiwan’s legal framework with international human rights standards and demonstrating a commitment to protecting vulnerable populations. The government’s responsibility to act becomes undeniable in light of the reality: asylum seekers do exist in Taiwan (even though statistics are unavailable due to the absence of an asylum law and a corresponding monitoring system). Organizations such as the Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR), Amnesty International Taiwan (AITW), and the non-governmental network supporting Hong Kong protesters facing potential riot charges have all called for the establishment of asylum legislation. How is it that Taiwan—celebrated for progressive policies like same-sex marriage and high female representation in politics—still lacks such a law? While it might be tempting to attribute this to a lack of prioritization by the government and lawmakers, this explanation is overly simplistic and unhelpful. A deeper look reveals two significant barriers to progress. The first is the so-called “China factor,” which complicates Taiwan’s international and domestic policymaking, particularly in areas tied to sovereignty. The second is the assumption that public opinion would oppose such a law, further discouraging policymakers from pursuing the issue. Before addressing these barriers, it is important to examine the legislative processes related to asylum law that took place in Taiwan.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

O - Miscellaneous

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

50601 - Political science

Project

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Continuities

V - Vyzkumna aktivita podporovana z jinych verejnych zdroju

Publication year

2024

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů