Is the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) giving up on wooing young voters? The party would adamantly deny it, but it definitely looks that way in light of the KMT government’s latest move: Attempting to rein in college students’ freedom to participate openly in the discussion boards at the online Professional Technology Temple, or PTT as it is better known among local Internet users.
The site, managed by National Taiwan University, is the nation’s largest academic bulletin board system. Popular among college students, PTT hosts thousands of discussion boards, serving as a forum for young people to share their thoughts and take note of others’ opinions.
Shockingly, however, it has been revealed that the Ministry of Education on Oct. 21 issued a notice to the university asking it to review and strengthen its management of PTT’s Gossip Board, which the ministry alleged was filled with articles on politics that were penned by staffers from political parties.
Shame on the ministry for issuing such a notice, which it described as a “mere friendly reminder,” because it instantly begs the question from any rights-conscious Internet users as to what authority the ministry thinks it has to restrict students from exercising their right to free speech online.
Accusing those taking part in the Gossip Board and chatting about politics of being subversive moles planted by political parties is ridiculous.
Many academics and adults have often lamented that young people nowadays are indifferent to what is happening around them, that they lack ideals and indulge their selfish desires in online gaming. So shouldn’t the ministry take it as an encouraging sign that there are college students who do pay attention to the serious matters happening around them and care enough to spend time discussing those issues online on the so-called Gossip Board?
The logic behind the ministry’s decision to send the notice is perplexing. Does it wish for the nation’s youth to not have their own opinions on serious subjects such as politics, wanting them only to comment on gossip like who actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛, better known as Big S) is engaged to or what designer’s dresses the movie stars are going to flaunt on the red carpet at the upcoming Golden Horse Awards?
In view of the initiative taken by Taichung prosecutors to look into the posting of a spoof version of a campaign video for Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) — which the prosecutors later denied was a formal probe — it is no wonder there are voices expressing concern about whether these are signs of the nation regressing to a past when people’s freedom of speech and expression were censured.
So far, the university has not issued any formal statement in response to the ministry’s notice.
Just like it was shameful for the ministry to send out the notice in the first place, it would be equally disgraceful if the university were to blindly comply with the ministry regarding the matter without raising a single objection.
As for the students, they must not be intimidated nor allow their views to be repressed or their rights trampled. It would truly be depressing if they were to comply with the ministry’s demand without putting up a fight, as it would suggest that the nation’s youth have been disenfranchised and freedom of speech and expression are headed down the road of regression, leading to gagged mouths and blindfolds.
The Comedy Club on Fuxing N Road in Taipei was vandalized with paint bombs mixed with feces on May 29, allegedly because one of its performers had satirized Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). The incident has triggered concerns about the growing threat from China’s cross-border repression within Taiwan. On the day of the attack, a comedian surnamed Huang (黃), who is known for mocking Xi, was the headline performer. The Comedy Club founder said the assault was obviously politically motivated. China, which Freedom House said “conducts the most sophisticated, extensive and far-reaching campaign of transnational repression in the world,” has
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) at a press conference last week repeated the same, tired line, claiming that Taiwan’s future should be “decided jointly by the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people, including Taiwan compatriots.” The statement is absurd. Virtually every word is incorrect, with some parts mistaken to an astonishing degree. First, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has never included Taiwan. When the Republic of China’s (ROC) original five-colored flag was established in 1912, Taiwan was still under Japanese rule. When the PRC was founded in 1949, Taiwan was under the control of president Chiang
Just before dawn on Jan. 17, a Chinese military drone crossed for the first time into Taiwanese airspace above a disputed coral reef in the South China Sea. The reconnaissance aircraft lingered over Pratas Island (Xisha Island, 西沙群島) for a few minutes, while Taipei issued warnings to leave over international radio frequencies. China said the flight was a “normal” training mission. Taiwan called it “provocative and irresponsible.” On the other side of the world, officials in Europe saw the maneuver as part of a long-term Chinese plan to salami-slice away Taiwanese control over its territory and, eventually, force its unification with China. EU officials
Following the outbreak of conflict in Iran, TikTok was flooded with videos targeting Taiwanese users. Many featured artificial intelligence (AI)-generated anchors posing as Taiwanese broadcasters with localized traditional Chinese subtitles. The videos warned of imminent social collapse due to liquefied natural gas shortages, blamed the Democratic Progressive Party and its alleged failed energy policies for a fabricated crisis, and used recycled footage from unrelated events to create the impression Taiwan stood on the edge of systemic breakdown. By saturating the information environment with falsehoods or selectively edited material designed to trigger emotional responses, malign actors can exploit cognitive vulnerabilities and
RSS