The latest Worldwide Press Freedom Index released on Tuesday by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) saw Taiwan’s ranking plummet to 59th place from last year’s 36th. While the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus was quick to dismiss the significance of the report — with some KMT lawmakers questioning whether it harbored a “certain ideology” (without elaborating) — Taiwan’s poor showing this year should serve as a wake-up call on government interference with the Fourth Estate.
KMT legislative caucus whip Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) yesterday said that most Taiwanese do not think the government compromises media independence. What Liu apparently failed to realize was that the RSF report was the product of responses gathered from hundreds of journalists and media experts worldwide on issues such as censorship, harassment, media independence and legal frameworks.
In other words, the end product of the international media watchdog’s annual press freedom index is a direct result of the opinions of those who work in and are familiar with the news business and know the skeletons in the closet within the industry.
“The new ruling party in Taiwan tried to interfere in state and privately-owned media while violence by certain activists further undermined press freedom,” the RSF press freedom report said in its assessment of Taiwan.
Executive Yuan Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) yesterday called the review “unacceptable.” This rebuttal carries no credibility unless Su and the Government Information Office can come up with substantial evidence to counter the less-than-appealing impressions garnered by RSF.
Among these were the KMT caucus-initiated motion that amended the Public Television Act (公共電視法) in June this year to increase the number of Public Television Station (PTS) board members and supervisors.
The KMT caucus also suggested the budget for Taiwan Broadcasting System-associated TV stations such as PTS, Hakka TV and Taiwan Indigenous Television be used as a mechanism to vet programming.
These tactics were largely seen by critics as government attempts to reinforce control over the foundation’s operations. The practice of “placement marketing” by the government and stories of media outlets and reporters receiving calls from government officials expressing “certain views” are also common in media circles.
It was partly with the aim of safeguarding media independence that the National Communications Commission (NCC) was established in 2006. However, the way the NCC handles complaints — such as forwarding negative feedback about a PTS news talk show containing “too much Hoklo” and accusing the show of being too critical of China — suggest the NCC is itself a having hard time maintaining its status as an independent body.
Press freedom is one of Taiwan’s most precious assets. Warnings, big or small, must be taken seriously to prevent the nation’s press freedom from being eroded any further.
China’s supreme objective in a war across the Taiwan Strait is to incorporate Taiwan as a province of the People’s Republic. It follows, therefore, that international recognition of Taiwan’s de jure independence is a consummation that China’s leaders devoutly wish to avoid. By the same token, an American strategy to deny China that objective would complicate Beijing’s calculus and deter large-scale hostilities. For decades, China has cautioned “independence means war.” The opposite is also true: “war means independence.” A comprehensive strategy of denial would guarantee an outcome of de jure independence for Taiwan in the event of Chinese invasion or
A recent Taipei Times editorial (“A targeted bilingual policy,” March 12, page 8) questioned how the Ministry of Education can justify spending NT$151 million (US$4.74 million) when the spotlighted achievements are English speech competitions and campus tours. It is a fair question, but it focuses on the wrong issue. The problem is not last year’s outcomes failing to meet the bilingual education vision; the issue is that the ministry has abandoned the program that originally justified such a large expenditure. In the early years of Bilingual 2030, the ministry’s K-12 Administration promoted the Bilingual Instruction in Select Domains Program (部分領域課程雙語教學實施計畫).
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) earlier this month said it is necessary for her to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and it would be a “huge boost” to the party’s local election results in November, but many KMT members have expressed different opinions, indicating a struggle between different groups in the party. Since Cheng was elected as party chairwoman in October last year, she has repeatedly expressed support for increased exchanges with China, saying that it would bring peace and prosperity to Taiwan, and that a meeting with Xi in Beijing takes priority over meeting
Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman for maritime affairs Rogelio Villanueva on Monday said that Manila’s claims in the South China Sea are backed by international law. Villanueva was responding to a social media post by the Chinese embassy alleging that a former Philippine ambassador in 1990 had written a letter to a German radio operator stating that the Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) did not fall within Manila’s territory. “Sovereignty is not merely claimed, it is exercised,” Villanueva said. The Philippines won a landmark case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 that found China’s sweeping claim of sovereignty in
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