In the wake of criticism that the government is violating freedom of press by banning Chinese journalists from Taiwan, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) countered yesterday with an attack on China's tight control over news coming from Taiwan, and requested that it lift bans on the Internet Web sites of two local newspapers.
"China's attitude toward the media is diametrically opposed to the principle of press freedom. This is what actually deserves criticism," MAC Vice Chairman David Huang (黃偉峰) said yesterday during a press conference.
He said that for starters China should "at the very least" lift Internet restrictions placed on the China Times and United Daily News. China blocks virtually all Taiwanese online news sites.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
The council has protested these bans on several occasions, particularly in the wake of the "Anti-Secession" Law that Beijing recently adopted.
Council Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) had said during an interview with the Taipei Times last month that the removal of internet bans was the first step towards demonstrating a respect for public opinion and repairing the damage rendered by the Anti-Secession Law.
Similarly, Huang also said yesterday that the government's primary motivation in allowing Chinese correspondents to be stationed in Taipei was to promote bilateral ties by way of increasing China's understanding of Taiwan.
Huang's remarks came on the heels of the council's recent decision to suspend permits allowing Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency and the People's Daily to post correspondents in Taiwan.
Huang noted however that its stated goals had not been achieved and had instead served to further strain relations by bringing about misunderstanding.
The council cited the distortion of information and the negative impact the reports had on cross-strait relations as reasons for the ban.
Xinhua News Agency's Taipei correspondent Zhang Mei (
Zhang said that the decision had come as "a shock" and that the council had not contacted her beforehand.
Despite the council's accusations that Xinhua often distorted the truth, she defended Xinhua's reports as "objective and balanced" and said that they had not deviated from their journalistic professionalism.
Another Chinese correspondent posted in Taipei yesterday said on condition of anonymity that the council's decision had made a "joke" of Taiwan's democracy and was a setback for cross-strait ties.
The reporter said that it was untrue that the Chinese media reported only on the negative aspects of Taiwan.
Huang made clear yesterday however that the council was not in anyway clamping down on negative reporting but rather the distorted and manipulative handling of news reports and the subsequent "negative impact" that such reporting had on ties.
"Clear and accurate information is best for cross-strait relations?as for whether the reports reflect negatively or positively [on Taiwan], I don't care," Huang said yesterday, citing reports that Xinhua had carried saying Taiwan welcomed the Anti-Secession Law despite several public opinion polls to the contrary.
He reiterated that the suspension was temporary and that it was motivated by the council's overall assessment of journalistic interactions across the Taiwan Strait.
He said that he hoped to see some regional Chinese media outlets posted in Taiwan.
EXCUSES: Beijing is using government and research vessels as a pretext to harass the nation and enter its EEZ, and engage in ‘hegemonic expansion,’ the coast guard said The Coast Guard Administration yesterday said it drove away Chinese oceanographic research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 22 (向陽紅33) from restricted waters after warning it that it was in Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Chinese vessel entered restricted waters off the coast of Yilan County’s Suao (蘇澳) at 11:35pm on Thursday, the coast guard said, adding that it dispatched the Lanyu patrol vessel and the boat PP-10077 to shadow the Chinese ship and issue radio warnings ordering it to leave. China has no sovereignty over waters off Taiwan’s east coast, Lanyu’s crew told Xiang Yang Hong 22 over the radio, and demanded
BAIT AND SWITCH: Allowing KMT-run counties to sell to China while the threat of abrupt cancelations hangs overhead is another form of coercion, officials said Beijing is using agricultural purchase offers announced during the Straits Forum to deepen Taiwan’s dependence on the Chinese market, a Taiwanese official said yesterday as they criticized the Taitung County commissioner’s participation in the initiative. During the Straits Forum held in Xiamen on Saturday, Chinese officials announced a sales and purchase agreement for agricultural products from some counties led by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Taitung County Commissioner Yao Ching-ling (饒慶鈴), who was barred from attending the event in person by the Mainland Affairs Council, participated via video. Under the agreement, China would purchase atemoyas, pomeloes, tea and grouper harvested in Taitung,
SHIFTING FIRE: While the tempo of purely military exercises around Taiwan has gone down somewhat, Beijing is working to isolate Lai diplomatically from support abroad Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is shifting tactics in his campaign to pressure Taiwan, ramping up diplomatic isolation of the nation while dialing down provocative displays of military aggression. Taiwan recorded a daily average of five Chinese military aircraft crossing the Taiwan Strait’s buffer line with China through May this year — half the number logged in the same period last year. In March, Beijing did not send a single fighter jet near Taiwan for seven days, the longest absence on record outside of typhoon season. In comparison, China sent 153 planes near Taiwan during one day at its peak in
Four Taiwanese universities have been ranked among the world's top 200 institutions in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings for next year, the highest Taiwan has ever placed in the category, with National Taiwan University (NTU) achieving its best performance at 54th globally and 17th in Asia. The four Taiwanese institutions in the global top 200 are NTU (54th), National Tsing Hua University (142nd), National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (177th) and National Cheng Kung University (191st), the rankings showed. All four universities achieved their highest-ever global rankings this year, QS data showed. National Cheng Kung University entered the top 200 for
RSS