Hey NGOs, What Are You Making Noise About?!

Taiwan Association for the Abolition of the Death Penalty / Legal Affairs Director Lin Tzu-wei

Established in 2003, the Taiwan Association for the Abolition of the Death Penalty aims for Taiwan to someday become a country without the death penalty after thorough discussion and critical thinking. Over the past 13 years, in addition to actively assisting individual cases and uncovering judicial problems through practical casework, the association has also endeavored to bring the death penalty issue into society and communicate and dialogue with all sectors through various means such as forums, seminars, and film festivals.

Firefighters' Rights Promotion Association / Secretary-General Cheng Ya-ling

Established in 2013, the Firefighters' Rights Promotion Association is dedicated to safeguarding the labor rights of frontline firefighters and raising their labor awareness. By protesting against the National Fire Agency of the Ministry of the Interior and the fire bureaus of various local governments, we demand an increase in firefighting personnel, improvement of equipment, enhancement of fireground safety, a return to professional duties, and a reduction of working hours. Our two major recent focus areas are assisting the families of firefighters killed in the Xinwu fire in seeking the truth about the fireground and the dismissal case of Hsu Kuo-yao.

Taiwan Association for Human Rights / Secretary-General Chiu I-ling

TAHR was established on December 10, 1984 (International Human Rights Day) during the Martial Law period. At its inception, its primary tasks were promoting democratic reform and fighting for the political and civil rights of the people. In recent years, with changes in the social environment, TAHR has gradually focused on monitoring governmental abuse of power. Its key areas of concern include case assistance, bill research, and advocacy regarding the right to assembly and association, the right to housing, internet freedom and privacy rights, personal liberty, and the human rights of refugees and stateless persons, as well as promoting human rights concepts, organizing volunteer training, and holding local human rights workshops. Simultaneously, TAHR actively participates in international human rights organizations, shares domestic human rights updates with various countries, and provides mutual support.

Taiwan Police Rights Promotion Association / Hsiao Nung-yü

Police officers are the frontline enforcers of the state apparatus when facing crowds. With the surging social movements in recent years, frontline police officers are frequently forced into the awkward position of being sandwiched between the state and the people. In 2014, several citizens and frontline police officers dedicated to improving police-civilian relations jointly formed the Taiwan Police Rights Promotion Association, dedicated to enhancing police labor rights and fostering the solidarity and organization of frontline police officers. They believe that since police officers are also laborers, they should enjoy basic labor dignity and safeguards. Furthermore, because the police serve all citizens, safeguarding police labor conditions is precisely what upholds the quality of public services.

PILnet Public Interest Law Fellowship / Researcher Lin Yu-ju

Since 1998, PILnet: The Global Network for Public Interest Law (formerly the Public Interest Law Center at Columbia University) has consistently provided an 8-month fellowship program for public interest lawyers and legally trained NGO workers from the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa to study human rights, public interest law, and related courses at Columbia Law School. During the program, participants also have the opportunity to visit government agencies, courts, and non-governmental organizations in Washington, D.C. and Europe, as well as intern at local public interest law organizations in New York.

Note: Lin Yu-ju is a 2015 recipient of the Public Interest Law Research and Practice Program, and her internship institution was the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. She is currently a legal researcher at the Science and Technology Law Institute (STLI) of the Information Industry (III) and a pro bono legal advocacy consultant for the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF).