There is an urgent need to analyze thoroughly the serious setbacks of democracy and human rights Taiwan experienced in 2008. This article takes the ten most important human rights cases and assesses possible infringement, and regretfully, the conclusion is reached that the police and the judicial authorities, particularly the court prosecution officials, are the two major direct sources for the regression. Furthermore, four major indirect sources for these violations are identified, being the malfunction of constitutional checks and balances, the political weakening of the Democratic Progressive Party who serves as a watchdog to the Kuomintang, the China factor and the insensitivity of the Ma administration to human rights infringements. Finally, the article argues that owing to the fact that the major identifiable setbacks can hardly be altered in the near future, it is up to civil society to take unified action and become the primary guardian for democracy and human rights in Taiwan.