this report was compiled by the Executive Yuan and issued in June 2020. The goal of this assessment is to facilitate a better understanding of Taiwan’s current human rights conditions, and to acquire pertinent reviews and recommendations from the international experts. In turn, our newly-established National Human Rights Commission resolved to issue our independent review and opinion on the issues discussed in said Third Report, in accordance with the authorization in subparagraph 8, Article 2 of the Organic Act of the Control Yuan National Human Rights Commission; this review, referred to below as “the Opinion,” was released in December 2020, ex officio. Nevertheless, given the insufficient time, materials, and human resources that could be devoted to the task at this moment, the Opinion now issued by the NHRC cannot serve as an exhaustive assessment on the entirety of the rules and systems addressing human rights in Taiwan. The Opinion has been compiled primarily based on those issues proposed by the Members of the 5th Control Yuan,1 based on cases relevant to the ICCPR and ICESCR, as investigated during their term that ran from 2014 to 2020, and assigned to the categories addressed by the two covenants. Through this process, with our supervisory force that is autonomous of other government agencies, we expect to discover any deficiencies in the current systems, and in that oversight capacity we urge administrative agencies to improve. We also follow up on the improvements made in these administrative agencies after presentation of investigative reports, and provide the relevant details thereof, so they may continue to finetune their performance. I have personally participated in and witnessed the process of democratization of Taiwan. Over the past half century, I have devoted myself without respite to the struggle for and defense of human rights. As Taiwan is moving toward a new milestone in human rights standards, I am honored to serve as the Chair for the first six-year term of the National Human Rights Commission, newly-established under the Control Yuan. 1 The Control Yuan is an ombudsman-like independent branch of government in Taiwan defined in the Constitution; its 29 Members (10 of which are also NHRC members) are allotted autonomous powers to receive citizen complaints and to investigate all government operations.