The recent incident involving Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Vice Chairman Zhang Mingqing (張銘清) being mobbed in Tainan allowed many people in Taiwan to gain an understanding of just what exactly is meant by “journalism based on the one country, two systems model.”
Zhang studied journalism and worked as a journalist for more than a decade before taking up a post in the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) of China’s State Council, where he also served for more than a decade. When he was appointed dean of the new School of Journalism and Communication at Xiamen University in June last year, he proposed his theory of “journalism based on the one country, two systems model,” which he had conceived more than a decade earlier. “Journalism based on the one country, two systems model” should be classified as part of the overall “one country, two systems” formula.
However, the Chinese and the Taiwanese have different ideas about the media and it is therefore very difficult to have an environment beneficial to the implementation of the “one country, two systems” formula.”
The incident in Tainan has provided the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait with a perfect opportunity to examine the issue of “journalism based on the one country, two systems model” in more depth. It is quite easy to see how Zhang applied this theory during his visit.
First, let us look at Zhang, for his words and actions are a perfect example of the workings of his theory. During his time as TAO spokesman, Zhang made comments that could almost be considered threats against Taiwan. However, after he arrived in Taiwan, and especially after the Tainan incident, Zhang had to be “different” and had to try to gain the recognition and acceptance of the Taiwanese. This worked, for the teary speech Zhang gave at the airport as he was leaving did manage to win some warmth and understanding from Taiwanese.
Second, we should consider whether this incident was an overflow of emotion on behalf of those worried about Taiwan’s sovereignty being sacrificed or whether it was a straight out act of violence that brought shame upon Taiwan and its democracy. Taiwanese media have shown no change, with different news channels giving totally different explanations of the same footage, with some TV stations focusing on what they view as “violent” acts of those with different political opinions.
However, Zhang made his thoughts clear when he said: “I believe those who behaved violently do not represent Tainan residents or the 23 million people of Taiwan.”
The Chinese media said last Wednesday that “such incidents should be regarded as normal in a diverse society,” a marked change in values compared with the China of the past.
Earlier this year, a book on the media in post-1997 Hong Kong under the “one country, two systems” model, titled Xianggang zai yiguoliangzhi xia de xinwen shengtai (香港在一國兩制下的新聞生態) was published. The book showed the media in Hong Kong is now facing unprecedented challenges in terms of freedom of the press and the government’s control and use of the media.
Legislative Council member Leung Kwok-hung (梁國雄) once said that he was most worried about the people of Hong Kong having to be happy “slaves” that had to forget their most basic dignities and values.
I believe that Taiwanese and everyone involved in the media here believe in freedom of the press. I also believe that we will never be able to stand for a “one country, two systems” basis for the media, which would harm our most basic dignities and values.
Lillian Wang is an associate professor in the Graduate Institute of Journalism at National Taiwan University.
TRANSLATED BY DREW CAMERON
As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) reach the point of confidence that they can start and win a war to destroy the democratic culture on Taiwan, any future decision to do so may likely be directly affected by the CCP’s ability to promote wars on the Korean Peninsula, in Europe, or, as most recently, on the Indian subcontinent. It stands to reason that the Trump Administration’s success early on May 10 to convince India and Pakistan to deescalate their four-day conventional military conflict, assessed to be close to a nuclear weapons exchange, also served to
The recent aerial clash between Pakistan and India offers a glimpse of how China is narrowing the gap in military airpower with the US. It is a warning not just for Washington, but for Taipei, too. Claims from both sides remain contested, but a broader picture is emerging among experts who track China’s air force and fighter jet development: Beijing’s defense systems are growing increasingly credible. Pakistan said its deployment of Chinese-manufactured J-10C fighters downed multiple Indian aircraft, although New Delhi denies this. There are caveats: Even if Islamabad’s claims are accurate, Beijing’s equipment does not offer a direct comparison
After India’s punitive precision strikes targeting what New Delhi called nine terrorist sites inside Pakistan, reactions poured in from governments around the world. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) issued a statement on May 10, opposing terrorism and expressing concern about the growing tensions between India and Pakistan. The statement noticeably expressed support for the Indian government’s right to maintain its national security and act against terrorists. The ministry said that it “works closely with democratic partners worldwide in staunch opposition to international terrorism” and expressed “firm support for all legitimate and necessary actions taken by the government of India
Taiwan aims to elevate its strategic position in supply chains by becoming an artificial intelligence (AI) hub for Nvidia Corp, providing everything from advanced chips and components to servers, in an attempt to edge out its closest rival in the region, South Korea. Taiwan’s importance in the AI ecosystem was clearly reflected in three major announcements Nvidia made during this year’s Computex trade show in Taipei. First, the US company’s number of partners in Taiwan would surge to 122 this year, from 34 last year, according to a slide shown during CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech on Monday last week.
RSS