Western news outlets are increasingly turning to Chinese nationals sympathetic to the Chinese government for reporting in the region amid a sharp decline in the number of foreign journalists in Taiwan, industry figures said yesterday, adding that such developments are leading to either skewed coverage or little to no coverage at all of Taiwan by Western media.
A recent string of allegedly biased reports on Taiwan by such big-name Western media organizations as CNN, The Associated Press (AP) and the Economist have sparked an outcry from all quarters. That reporting was again attacked by media figures yesterday at a forum hosted by the Broadcasting Development Fund, a private media watchdog known for its pro-pan-green-camp views.
"Lee Ming [李閩] is Hong Kong Chinese," said fund director Connie Lin (
"Lee may have studied or even grown up in the US, but he obviously harbors biases in his reporting that favor Beijing," she said.
Lee's reporting underscores the consequences of a swelling legion of Chinese journalists in Western news outlets who churn out pro-Beijing articles, she added.
A Japanese national once blacklisted by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government while working as a Kyoto News reporter, Sakai Toru -- now a freelance writer based in Taipei -- questioned Western media's motives in consistently reporting news on Taiwan from Beijing's perspective.
"Why don't the Western media report on US President George W. Bush from a Middle Eastern perspective? -- such as `The leader widely known as the scum of the world made a surprise visit to Iraq yesterday.' Or why, when reporting on Chinese President Hu Jintao [胡錦濤], can't Hu be referred to according to his ranking as the world's fourth-worst dictator?" Sakai said.
`Scum of the Nation'
Paul Tsai (
"The article isn't in keeping [with an otherwise acceptable track record]," Lu said of AP.
Panelists also lamented what they called a steady drain of foreign journalists from Taiwan, saying that while China's view on the country dominates Western coverage of cross-strait affairs, fewer foreign journalists are sticking around to report from Taipei's perspective.
"There are only 20 to 30 foreign journalists here now," Tsai said.
Speaking to the Taipei Times by phone yesterday, Taipei Foreign Correspondents' Club president Kathrin Hille said that although major Western news publications are no longer dispatching as many "staffers" to the country, "I don't think the total number of [foreign journalists] has declined. That always happens in news markets that matter less," she said of the thinning ranks of permanent correspondents from big-name media organizations. "Look, news is a market -- media serve to give their audiences what they think they're interested in and right now, everybody's interested in China," Hille said.
Pragmatic
"There's a need for people to read what you write and getting into a story from the China angle helps to ensure that," she added. "Taiwan's significance is declining."
"But, in a way, that's a good thing -- that means no disasters are coming out of this place," she said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
RSS