President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文)/CNA file photo

Taipei, June 26 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Tuesday that the Taiwanese people's efforts in pursuit of democracy and their accomplishments in that area are obvious to everyone, according to a statement released by the Presidential Office.

During a meeting with academics and experts from around the world, Tsai pointed out that Freedom House scored Taiwan 93 out of 100 in its 2018 Freedom in the World report, two points higher than last year.

Another indication of Taiwan's standing as a democratic country was the fact that Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a French-based NGO that promotes freedom of the press, established its first Asian office in Taipei last year, she said.

Over the past two years, "our actions have proved that Taiwan's democracy will move forward and absolutely will not slip back," Tsai told the group of think tank research fellows and academics who are in Taiwan for a forum that marks the 15th anniversary of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD).

She said transitional justice is the last mile on Taiwan's journey of democratization and that the launch of the Transitional Justice Commission last month was "a big stride" in the right direction.

Lauding the visitors as important figures dedicated to promoting democracy, Tsai said she was pleased to see their participation in the forum to offer suggestions on democracy-related issues such as ways of countering democratic regression, guaranteeing freedom of speech and fighting fake news.

She also said she hoped that academics, experts, democracy advocacy groups and pro-democracy activists would become more engaged in cooperation and exchanges that advance democracy.

(By Yeh Su-ping and Evelyn Kao)
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