Human rights in East Asia (HUREA)

CEIAS is implementing a project dedicated to analyzing human rights in East Asia from a comparative perspective.

HUREA will focus on human rights in East Asia in the following human rights topics: death penalty, asylum, and female representation in politics. While HUREA will cover all East Asian countries, Taiwan will serve as a special case study. Taiwan’s case in these three human rights topics will be studied in more detail, and findings then applied (whenever possible) to the whole region. By researching the selected human rights issues from both a comparative as well as case study perspective, employing a mixed methods approach (advanced survey data analyses, documents and media analyses, and in-depth interviews) the research will contribute to the broader discussions on human rights in East Asia.

Donor: Funded by the EU NextGenerationEU through the Recovery and Resilience Plan for Slovakia under the project No. 09I03-03-V04-00461

Duration: August 2024 – July 2026

Contact: Kristina Kironska (kironska@ceias.eu)

Articles and opinion pieces:

• Lickova, V. and K. Kironska, “Taiwan’s aid diplomacy to Ukraine: catching two birds with one stone“, CEIAS Insights, 1 November 2024. toto tam uz je
• Kironska, K., “Taiwan’s Attempts to Enact an Asylum Law: Navigating Politics, Public Opinion, and Human Rights,” Taiwan Human Rights Hub, 22 November 2024.
• Kironska, K., “Why South Africa Ordered Taiwan’s Office Relocation—and Paths to Resolve the Standoff“, Prospects & Perspectives No. 64, 27 November 2024.
• Kironska, K., “The Role of Quotas in Transforming Women’s Political Participation in 21st Century Taiwan“, in Perkuhn, Josie-Marie (ed), Taiwan as a Pioneer Local Innovation in the Dynamics of Global Megatrends 台灣做頭陣：在全球大勢挑戰中的地方創新 Retrospect 2025“, Universität Trier, 2026.
• Kironska, K., “Taiwan-related activities of Central European Institute of Asian Studies“, in Perkuhn, Josie-Marie (ed), Taiwan as a Pioneer Local Innovation in the Dynamics of Global Megatrends 台灣做頭陣：在全球大勢挑戰中的地方創新 Retrospect 2025“, Universität Trier, 2026.
• Tsering, D., and K. Kironska, “Taiwan’s Democratic Blind Spot: Statelessness and Legal Exclusion,” The Diplomat, 22 May 2026.
• Tsering, D., and K. Kironska, “The Securitized Monk: Tibetan Buddhism Between China’s Persecution and Taiwan’s Democratic Contradictions,” CEIAS Insights, 12 June 2026.
• Kironska, K., “A quiet reform with big consequences: How Taiwan is reshaping women’s representation in local politicsm,” CEIAS Insights, 23 June 2026.

Academic articles:

• Findor, A., R. Hlatky, O. Buchel, M. Hruška, and K. Kironska, 2025, “Anti-Muslim Bias in Foreign Policy Attitudes: Experimental Evidence From Thirteen European Countries”, British Journal of Political Science 55(4).
• Kironska, K., 2025, “Human Rights: What are the Roadblocks in an Otherwise Progressive Path?” In Kironska, K., and E. Rejtova Yang (eds), Contemporary Taiwan: More Than a Flashopint, Routledge.
• Chubb, A., T. Loughran, B. Yoxon, and K. Kironska, 2026, “Intuitive Deterrence Theorists…With Feelings? Perceptions of Chinese Resolve in a Crisis,” Conflict Management and Peace Science.
• Findor, A., K. Kironska, R. Hlatky, O. Buchel, M. Hruška, and A. H. Liu, 2026, “Ignoring Gender Compromises the Comparability of Cross-Cultural Survey Research”, Public Opinion Quarterly.
• Chen, R., and K. Kironska, 2026, “Looming Pessimism? Taiwanese Perceptions and Emotions of Cross-Strait Relations”, In Marinaccio, J., and K. Kironska, Taiwan in the New World Order: The Legacy of Tsai Ing-Wen, Brill.

Guest lectures in Slovakia:

• 20 November 2024 – Taiwan Studies Center Bratislava, Faculty of Management, Comenius University Bratislava, Human rights in Taiwan: What are the roadblocks in an otherwise progressive path?

• 5 December 2024 – Portuguese Studies, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University Bratislava, Čínska prítomnosť v Mozambiku a jej vplyv na ľudské práva

• 29 April 2025 – panel at the CEEasia Forum 2025, Civil society and media in Asia and Central Europe: shared values, common challenges

Conference presentations:

• 22 May 2025 – The 5th World Congress of Taiwan Studies, Academia Sinica, Taipei, The Role of Quotas in Transforming Women’s Political Participation in Taiwan

• 24-25 May 2025 – Amnesty International Taiwan Annual General Meeting, Taipei, Taiwan can help: Why do we need a refigee act?

• 26-27 June 2025 – Joint Conference National Chengchi University and University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Taiwan’s Gender Quotas: A Model for Genuine Political Participation and Empowerment

• 1-4 September 2025 – TAP workshop, Trier, The Role of Quotas in Transforming Women’s Political Participation in 21st Century Asia