“It is necessary for him to explain how he selects which outlets get interviews,” he said. “Or the public will think that he only picks those media who are friendly to him.”
Kuang added, however, that it was true all around the world that politicians show favoritism to certain media for the sake of serving their own interests.
“It is understandable, but it is not right,” he said. “It is something that is not normal in a democratic society.”
Although Ma may meet the local press corps on a regular basis, Kuang said that was not enough because the media’s responsibility is to scrutinize the performance of the government.
“As he is the president of the Republic of China [ROC], he should be examined by the ROC’s media,” Kuang said.
Kuang said it would be interesting to see whether Ma would give interviews to pro-localization media outlets, such as the Liberty Times, SETTV and Formosa TV.
“If he is smart, he should give interviews to other media outlets who have different views from his own,” Kuang said.
Hung Chen-ling (洪貞玲), a journalism professor at National Taiwan University, agreed that Ma should hold more regular press conferences and meetings with the media so that he can offer a clear account of the government’s polices.
Hung, however, noted that the former DPP administration did not fair much better. It was all very well for the Presidential Office to say it wants to treat the media fairly, she said, but that must apply to Chinese and English-language media.
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