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The paper seeks to examine whether and on what basis the international human rights law applies to the territorial non-state entities, having as an example the cases of the Republic of China and the territorial non-state entities from the post-Soviet space. For this purpose, the paper will focus first, on the applicability of the relevant international human rights treaties and general international human rights law regulations. Second, it will look at what place is reserved for the international human rights law in the national legal systems of the analysed territorial non-state entities. It is argued here that these territorial non-state entities proclaim their commitment to the rule of law and human rights by transplanting international regulations, especially the human rights ones, into their national provisions. After analysing the two case studies, it will be claimed that although the territorial non-state entities committed themselves to following international human rights law norms and standards, legal transplant is not sufficient and the territorial non-state entities shall engage more at the practical level in order to ensure the effectiveness of human rights protection on their territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) (Taiwan) have taken divergent paths in the area of human rights. Since the two leaders Xi Jinping and Tsai Ing-wen came to power, the differences in the area of human rights have further increased. The paper analyses and compares their external human rights strategies based on realist assumptions and the soft and hard power resources of the PRC and the ROC. The PRC's objectives are to deflect international criticism of its human rights situation and to weaken the global human rights system and its underlying human rights norms. Taiwan's objective is to use its record as a human rights leader in Asia to expand its limited international space and to strengthen its ties with other consolidated democracies and the global civil society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the growing human rights gap between China on one side and the US and Taiwan on the other side and analyses its impact on cross-strait relations. Since Xi Jinping's ascent to power in the People's Republic of China in 2012/2013 and the elections of Donald Trump in the US and Tsai Ing-wen in Taiwan in 2016, the relationship between China and the other two countries has worsened. The US and Taiwan have a similar view on human rights in the PRC. The increasing repression and authoritarianism of the PRC leads to a human rights gap in the Taiwan Strait that increases the divide and the tensions between both sides. The failure of the PRC to address in its proposal for a peaceful unification the concerns of the Taiwanese for their democracy and human rights pushes Taiwan further away. The similar assessment of the PRC's authoritarian threat by the US and Taiwan strengthens the bond between both, based on the shared values of democracy and human rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]