Taiwan receives inaugural Beacon Award for protecting democracy

Washington, May 21 (CNA) The government and civil society of Taiwan have been named as the first recipients of the Beacon Award bestowed by Freedom House, an advocacy group based in Washington.

Taiwan's "steadfast efforts to protect their own vibrant democracy, and to support the global struggle for freedom, in the face of escalating pressure from the Chinese Communist Party" helped the nation to earn the award, Freedom House said in a press release Wednesday.

The award was presented Tuesday by Robert Tuttle, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, to Taiwan's representative to the U.S. Alexander Yui (俞大㵢) and a civil society representative Chiang Min-yen (江旻諺), according to the press release.

Chiang is a non-resident fellow at the Taipei-based Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology.

At the award ceremony, Yui quoted President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), who said in an address Tuesday on the first anniversary of his presidency that "Taiwan relied on the participation and coming together of its citizens."

"We do not fear differences in opinion because the core of democracy is about finding, within difference, unity," Yui said, quoting the president, according to a Facebook post by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S.

Founded in 1941, Freedom House is a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that "works to create a world where all are free," according to its website.

"For more than 80 years, Freedom House has worked to defend human rights and promote democratic change by challenging unjust governments, defending civil liberties at home and abroad, and providing support for frontline activists who bravely strive for fundamental freedoms," its website says.

"Our yearly awards honor courageous individuals and innovative groups that have made significant contributions to the cause of human rights and democracy," it says.

For the first time, Freedom House this year introduced the Beacon Award, which went to Taiwan for its efforts to protect its democracy, according to the website.

In other categories, María Corina Machado, the leader of Venezuela's democratic movement, received the annual Freedom Award, which "recognizes outstanding leaders in the cause of freedom and democracy," Freedom House said.

The Leadership Award for "principled U.S. leadership on the world stage and support for those on the front lines of the struggle against tyranny" was awarded to U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Roger Wicker.

Server Mustafayev, a Crimean Tatar human rights defender whose arrest by Russian authorities in 2018 was "widely recognized as politically motivated," received the Alfred Moses Liberty Award, which honors "exemplary courage by political prisoners or outstanding efforts to secure their release," according to the news release.