Journalists fear freedoms at risk

On the eve of Journalists' Day, The Association of Taiwan Journalists yesterday urged the government to handle the touchy issue of classified information before it threatens freedom of the press any further.

"The government should establish a principle to define the meaning of classified information, and not accuse individuals of leaking secrets without any standard," said Yu Chia-chang (余佳璋), president of the association.

In the lead up to the holiday, two major court cases have highlighted the serious limitations on freedom of the press in Taiwan.

Major Liu Chih-chung (劉持中) was sentenced last week to nine years in prison for allegedly profiteering by offering classified information to Hung Che-cheng (洪哲政), a Power News journalist.

The entire case was based on Liu's confession that Hung had given him money in return for state secrets. No concrete evidence was presented in the case.

Earlier this week, Lo Chih-hao (駱志豪), a former Ministry of Transportation and Communications official, was denied an appeal and sentenced to two years in prison.

Lo was charged with providing confidential information on international air negotiations to reporters from the China Times and China Times Express between March 1998 and February 1999.

The High Court denied Lo's appeal against a conviction for leaking secret information to the press, and ruled Wednesday that Lo will not be permitted to file another appeal against his two-year sentence.

Yu said that journalists would be left guessing on the legality of their actions without any clear-cut definition of what constitutes a state secret coming from the courts.

"The government's approach is anti-democratic. It is trying to to influence the media and control freedom of the press," Yu said.

Sipping tea with reporters on Thursday, President Chen Shui-bian(陳水扁) criticized some reporters for using "freedom of the press" as an excuse to hurt the country's national security.

"Few journalists draw lines between enemies and friends. We can't play games with national security. We should look for freedom of the press while upholding Taiwan's national security," Chen said.

Journalism scholars said that it was inappropriate for the president to comment about "freedom of the press," especially given that the media's responsibility is to supervise politicians for the good of the public.

"The relationship between freedom of the press and national security is conflicting. It is tough to balance the two," said Ku Ling-ling (谷玲玲), professor of National Taiwan University's Graduate School of Journalism.

"If there is any journalist who violates any regulation, the government should deal with them using legal methods, but the president shouldn't accuse them in public."

Hu Yu-wei (胡幼偉), a professor at the Graduate Institute of Mass Communication at National Taiwan Normal University, said that it's understandable for a leader to want to control information, but an intelligent leader shouldn't do so.

Hu said that, while the government has the right to control the information it provides, it shouldn't obstruct freedom of the press.

"An intelligent leader should cooperate with reporters rather than treat them like an enemy," Hu said.