The nation's reporters, known for occasional aggressive behavior toward visiting officials and celebrities at CKS International Airport, will no longer have access to the airport's restricted areas, Minister of the Interior Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) said yesterday.
Visiting celebrities -- most famously Elton John in 2004 -- have been shocked by the antics of highly competitive reporters, photographers and cameramen at the airport.
Visits by senior officials traveling through CKS airport are also sometimes shrouded in secrecy.
PHOTO: YAO KAI-SHIOU, TAIPEI TIMES
"Itineraries of important foreign political figures and local officials are often confidential and they do not want their schedules to be exposed at the airport," Lee said.
"Clashes between reporters and visiting entertainers in the past also hurt the country's image," he said.
The ministry will stop issuing restricted area passes for reporters from March 1, Lee said, adding that the government's decision to cancel permits allowing journalists to be stationed at the airport was not aimed at "clamping down on press freedom," but in line with international practice.
Starting next month, media outlets will have to apply for approval in advance for reporters and photographers to cover a story at CKS airport, and authorities will handle applications on a case-by-case basis, he said.
A dozen reporters who are stationed at the airport wore masks yesterday to protest the ban.
"The government's decision takes away our right to cover news," said Tony Yao (
Elton John swore at reporters who swarmed around him at the airport, calling them "rude, vile pigs," while fellow British singer Robbie Williams was chased through the terminal when he arrived for a concert in 2001. In 2003, Corsican singer Alizee had to hide in a bathroom to evade the press. She canceled her schedule the next day and returned to France.
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