China is buying press
Ananth Krishnan, a former China correspondent for India Today, published an article titled “China is buying good press across the world, one paid journalist at a time,” on ThePrint on Nov. 24.
Krishnan said that China has successfully bought journalists in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and more than a dozen countries in Southeast Asia and Africa with luxury housing, scholarships and free tours, so the journalists would comply with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) call to “tell China’s story better” to the world.
Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders’ East Asia Bureau director Cedric Alviani has warned that China overlooks journalistic ethics, saying that if democratic nations do not stop this, news might be replaced by propaganda in 20 years.
Unfortunately, his warning is now a reality in Taiwan.
Former Hualien County commissioner Fu Kun-chi, a big fan of Xi, has been accused of hiring reporters to “tell Hualien’s story better” by praising his administration’s achievements in their reports and brainwashing local residents by creating a false impression of a happy life.
By winning elections on the back of such reports paid for with taxpayers’ money, Fu distorted the democratic elections in the county. I cannot help but wonder: Is this political scandal legal?
The case was uncovered by then-Hualien County acting commissioner Tsai Pi-chung (蔡碧仲), who found that Fu spent NT$5.46 million (US$177,659) of the county’s tax income to create a media database with reports promoting the county government’s policies through closed tenders for 25 projects.
A leaked audio recording purportedly features former Hualien County Government deputy secretary-general Hsieh Kung-ping (謝公秉), a reporter-turned-politician, promising some reporters a payment of NT$50,000 per month or NT$600,000 per year to write stories praising Fu’s political achievements and not to write anything negative about Fu, who is called the “Hualien king” (花蓮王).
Can the resignation of the reporters involved following the leaked recording really be the end of this huge scandal that has hurt media professionalism?
Hsieh contravened the Government Procurement Act (政府採購法) and other related regulations by helping reporters win the tender, paying them generously with taxpayers’ money for Fu’s political gain.
When politicians intervene in news reporting with public money, there is a clear case of quid pro quo between the politicians and the reporters involved.
Prosecutors and investigators should look into Fu’s case, so as to bring civil servants and reporters who committed bribery to justice. They should not respond to this ugly money game with the vague concept of media independence.
Moreover, during campaigning for the Nov. 24 nine-in-one elections, certain Taiwanese media outlets acted like certain candidates’ direct-selling channels, with nonstop news coverage of these candidates to brainwash their supporters.
Surely they must have learned this trick for attracting votes from Xi.
Lin Chih-han
Tainan
Are they missing?
More than 150 Vietnamese have gone missing in Taiwan. How do we know they are missing?
According to media reports, they checked into their hotel and then left the hotel an hour later. Law enforcement officers are looking for them. Why? Exactly what crime are they suspected of committing? Is leaving your hotel a crime in Taiwan? Is leaving your tour group a crime in Taiwan? Are they suspected of overstaying their visas?
The tourists reportedly arrived in Taiwan on Friday and Sunday last week, and were subsequently reported missing on Sunday and Monday. Were their visas only valid for three days?
The National Immigration Agency reportedly said that the tourists would be deported when they are found. Deported? Really? For what? Why did the agency say they would be deported as opposed to saying that they would be arrested and then put on trial where they are innocent until proven guilty, and only if they were found guilty would they be punished?
ETholiday, the travel agency that arranged the tour, reportedly said it believed the tourists faked their reasons for coming to Taiwan. Faked? Really? Based on what evidence? And if ETholiday believes that now, why did it not believe that before? If ETholiday believed that before then why did it arrange the trip in the first place?
Why does it seem that the English-language media, law enforcement and ETholiday are all presuming that these tourists are guilty of committing a crime without even defining what exactly that crime is?
If 150 white Americans had come to Taiwan and left their hotels one hour after checking in, would the travel agency call law enforcement? Would the travel agency, law enforcement and the media all assume that these white people are guilty of something? Would they not be more concerned for the white tourists’ safety? Is traveling while Vietnamese a crime in Taiwan?
Remember Nguyen Quoc Phi? Nguyen was a Vietnamese migrant worker living and working in Taiwan legally. In September last year, he ran away from his job. The cops found him. He was naked. They shot him and left him on the ground for at least 30 minutes. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. They shot to death a naked man. Why was Nguyen shot?
Why are the missing tourists presumed guilty in a country where there is almost no street crime? Why are migrant workers not allowed to live in their own apartments? Why are migrant workers required to live only in company dorms? Why are migrant workers forbidden from leaving their dorms at night in a country where there is almost no street crime?
Why does Taiwan treat its foreign workers like slaves? Yes, foreign workers are treated in Taiwan better than in other countries. The most comfortable slavery is still slavery. Why are white English teachers treated so much better in Taiwan than Asian foreign workers?
Andres Chang
Davao, Philippines
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