Taiwan yesterday saw its press freedom ranking slip 23 spots in the latest report issued by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), dropping to 59th this year from 36th last year.
"The new ruling party in Taiwan tried to interfere in state and privately-owned media, while violence by certain activists further undermined press freedom," RSF said on its Web site.
Since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regained power in May last year, Taiwan has seen its ranking in RSF's? press freedom index dip for a second year.
It was also the second time this year that Taiwan suffered a downgrade in a survey by a global media watchdog.
In May, the US-based Freedom House ranked Taiwan 43rd in its global survey, falling 11 spots from last year, saying "media in Taiwan faced assault and growing government pressure."
In response to RSF's latest report, Executive Yuan Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said the international organizations might have ranked the nation's performance based on their impression.
"When an institution examines so many countries, the impression they get from each country strongly influences how they rank the indicators," he said.
"We welcome international friends who would like to come to Taiwan to observe the media environment. Maybe they would form different opinions," he said.
Saying that the government had not interfered in the media over the past year, Su said it would work to clarify the facts with international organizations.
"Although [RSF] alleged the government exerted pressure on state and privately owned media, it did not cite concrete examples," Su said.
"I haven't heard of complaints from media outlets about government interference," Su added.
Su said the government would take the initiative to contact international organizations, study their surveys and make necessary improvements to advance freedom of speech in the country.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
RSS