Freedom, how long will it last?

CHAN: Now over to Taiwan where Freedom House, an American think tank organization, released their annual report on freedom in the world. Their report evaluates the state of freedom in nearly 200 countries on basic standards of political rights and civil liberties. And as you can imagine China was a subject that got more than one mention. According to the report, corruption in China remains a problem and the Chinese Communist Party continues to violate human rights and restrict the freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press. NTD’s Ben Hedges reports. STORY: [Christopher Walker, Freedom House]: “We decided to release our findings here for the first time, due to Taiwan’s strategic position both economically and geographically, and due to the fundamental fact that it is one of the region’s most vibrant democracies.” Representatives of Freedom House come to Taipei to release their annual report, entitled “Freedom in the World.” [Christopher Walker, Freedom House]: “‘Freedom in the World’ has been done now since 1972 and its purpose is to offer a clear evaluation of political rights and civil liberties developments in every country in the world.” In this year’s report, Finland came out top, as most free and North Korea as least free. 2.2 billion people live in countries designated ‘Not Free’ by this year’s report and more than half of those are in China. Freedom House’s analysis of China and its future naturally drew attention at the launch. [Christopher …