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Europeans discuss journalism with nation's reporters

Members of the Association of European Journalists (AEJ) gathered yesterday to share their journalism experiences in Europe, as well as to meet with their counterparts at the Association of Taiwanese Journalists (ATJ) to exchange information in a forum hosted by the National Taiwan University Graduate Institute of Journalism.

The AEJ was established in 1961 by 70 journalists from the six then-member states of the European Economic Community, in the hope that journalism could promote harmony and unity.

Now the AEJ has expanded to include 22 national sections established in different countries throughout Europe. The countries are not necessarily members of the EU, but work together to promote the interests of journalists involved in European affairs as well as preserving the freedom of the press.

With their visit, the six AEJ representatives have also taken the chance to briefly observe the media in Taiwan in the past week.

Tomas Vrba, AEJ representative from the Czech Republic, said that from his observations of the Taiwanese media, he found that most newspapers and TV stations were highly politicized during an election period.

The situation where papers favor one political candidate over another is not seen in Europe, where papers prefer not to be involved in political fights, Vrba said.

"Taiwan is a new democracy," Vrba said. "It is modern and successful, and it is evident that local journalists are free to criticize who they want to."
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