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Presidential Office denies restricting rights of reporters

Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said yesterday that the administration would do its best to uphold reporters’ rights, including during President’s Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) transit stops in the US next month.

Wang’s remarks came in the wake of criticism of the Presidential Office’s request on Thursday asking the media not to file reports during Ma’s transit stops in the US, saying it was a “precedent” set during the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration.

Ma is scheduled to make his first state visit from Aug. 12 to Aug. 19 to attend the inauguration of Paraguayan president-elect Fernando Lugo on Aug. 15 and Dominican Republic president-elect Leonel Fernandez on Aug. 16. Ma will spend the night of Aug. 13 in Los Angeles before heading to Paraguay, and will transit through San Francisco on his return.

A Presidential Office official said yesterday that the request was a result of misunderstanding.

Earlier yesterday, Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦), director of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Department of Culture and Communications, said that the Presidential Office had misinterpreted the “precedent” the DPP administration had set.

“They [the US government] always request that no public appearances be scheduled for the president during his stay in the US. That does not mean reporters cannot write and file their stories,” Cheng said.

“The Ma administration’s lack of experience in handling the president’s overseas visits is demonstrated by its misinterpretation of ‘no public activities’ as ‘no news coverage,’” he said.

As freedom of speech was one of the most important indicators of Taiwan’s democracy, the Ma administration has made itself a laughing stock by restricting journalists, Cheng said.
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