Taiwan – Guidance to business

IV. The corporate responsibility to respect human rights

B. Actions taken

• State encouragement of respect by businesses for human rights (page 11)

‘[…] the idea that businesses should fulfill their social responsibilities has been incorporated by the government into the “Company Act.” As a result, all businesses in Taiwan now have a clear legal basis to guide the fulfillment of their social responsibilities. In addition, companies must not allow their business activities to cause or contribute to human rights abuses, and they must take steps to prevent human rights abuses, in order to reduce the negative effect of business activities on human rights.’

‘The Taiwan government also provides resources and support, including the following: it uses the “Statute for Industrial Innovation” and other legislation to encourage and reward sustainable development; it expressly provides in the “Company Act” that companies must encourage enterprises to share profits with employees; it has added a new provision to the “Act for Development of Small and Medium Enterprises” to provide that, when the Composite Leading Indicators are above certain levels, if a small or medium enterprise raises the average salary paid to junior employees, it can receive tax breaks; and it has launched a Green Finance Action Plan that identifies green energy technology and other key industries as top-priority recipients of financial institution support so that they can spur the achievement of energy conservation and carbon reduction targets and environmental protection goals. For many years, the government has carried out assistance plans that have provided business diagnosis and consultation services, helped businesses to improve, and provided suggestions for future development.’

This information is also covered under Appendix 4: Overview of the implementation of the state duty to protect and the access to remedy, The state duty to protect, UNGP3, Actions taken (page 41).

• Greater information transparency (page 13)

‘the Taiwan government has also provided businesses with the tools and guidance needed to implement their CSR policies, and has continually conducted outreach activities to encourage businesses to: voluntarily prepare annual CSR reports; disclose their human rights policies, human rights assessment methods, and supplier risks; and establish internal grievance

This information is also covered under Appendix 4: Overview of the implementation of the state duty to protect and the access to remedy, The state duty to protect, UNGP3, Actions taken (page 41).

 

C. Actions planned

• Continue promoting dialogue and communication between businesses and stakeholders (page 14)

‘The Taiwan government will continue to promote dialogue and communication between businesses, government agencies, and civic groups to set up an effective platform for conducting sustained and regular dialogue and communication among themselves. […] To raise awareness of human rights issues, the government will conduct outreach activities. For example, it will prepare multilingual publicity materials to familiarize businesses, interest groups, and NGOs in Taiwan with the UNGPs and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.’