A journalism group yesterday urged the nation's embattled media to unite behind a reliable oversight mechanism if they want to improve the quality of news reporting and champion media professionals' rights.
The Association of Taiwan Journalists (ATJ) published its annual report on the media yesterday on the eve of Reporters' Day.
Taiwanese society has come a long way since the lifting of martial law in 1987, but the subjectivity of Taiwan's media remains firmly rooted in the past, said Hu Yuan-hui (
"The lifting of martial law didn't offer an Archimedes fulcrum for media in Taiwan to change. Instead, it opened Pandora's Box," Hu said.
The number of media institutions has multiplied since liberalization, but what is coming in its wake is disorder and chaos, Hu said.
According to Hu, the pursuit of profits and the polarization of traditional political power that divides local newspapers into two major group -- Taiwan Firsters and China Firsters -- have barricaded the cultivation of professionalism.
"If ideologies lead the way in the newsroom, professionalism will give way and so will the dignity and subjectivity of journalists."
Reporters' lack of self-discipline also contributes to social chaos and disorder caused by the media, according to Kuan Chung-hsiang (
"The founders of two main newspaper group were so-called literary men with the temperament of traditional Chinese intellectuals," Kuan said. "They at least had self-discipline to some degree.
"But now, businessmen have taken center stage. How can you ask them to discipline themselves and sacrifice profits when they are placed in a competitive capitalist environment?" he said.
"A four-year education in journalism cannot compete with a four-minute lecture from the boss," Kuan said.
Building and strengthening the subjectivity, self-awareness, professionalism and self-discipline of journalists in Taiwan is a top priority, academics and the association said.
An internal oversight mechanism, like the ombudsman system of the Washington Post, is a method worth adopting in Taiwan, said the association.
The establishment of unions and associations could also improve the quality of news reports and protect the working rights of journalists, according to the ATJ report.
"The conventions would regulate the behavior of media workers," Kuan said.
"For example, the Journalists Association of Korea can control the quality of its members by picking out winners and sinners," he added.
To improve the quality of news reports, owners of media should sign newsroom conventions with journalists, which would ensure more freedom and self-discipline for media workers, said Vicky Tien (田習如), ATJ executive commissioner.
"Journalists should join labor unions as soon as they can, so their rights can be protected," she said.
The government should also create better regulations for the press by improving existing laws or by making new ones, said Shyr Shyr-Hau (
"Judicial power is more regulative than the executive power," Shyr said. "But first the government should amend some of it outdated laws, such as the Union Law (
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods