The lack of effective anti-union discrimination legislation has facilitated the dismissal of trade union activists in recent years. The judiciary, which is not fully independent, is susceptible to corruption and political influence from the ruling KMT, although judges are being drawn increasingly from outside the party. There were a number of indictments of judges during 1998 for accepting bribes in exchange for favorable judgments. In May, a new organization of prosecutors was established to promote ongoing judicial reform, including higher professional standards. Police continue to abuse suspects, conduct personal identity and vehicle checks with widespread discretion, and obtain evidence illegally with few ramifications.
Prisons are overcrowded, and conditions are harsh in detention camps for illegal immigrants.
In a move expected to help reduce corruption and reform business contract procedures, legislators adopted a law in May 1998 which bans companies connected with political parties from bidding for public contracts and which prescribes life imprisonment for bid-riggers. Taiwan considerably relaxed restrictions against travel by Taiwanese to the Chinese mainland in 1998, though many limits on the entry of Chinese from the mainland remain in force, ostensibly for security reasons. Women face employment discrimination, and rape and domestic violence remain serious problems. In a positive move, new legislation was adopted in June requiring all city and county governments to establish domestic violence prevention centers. The country's 357,000 aboriginal descendants of Malayo-Polynesians suffer from social and economic alienation and have limited influence over policy decisions regarding their land and natural resources.