Taiwan’s efforts to cement ties with China could undermine its vibrant media environment by skirting topics deemed sensitive to Beijing, observers say.
Concern has grown after Taiwan’s ranking fell 23 places to 59th place in this year’s press freedom index released by Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) last week.
The sharp drop has left Taiwan trailing behind Hong Kong, which came in at 48, as well as African nations such as Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso.
In one example of the problems Taiwan’s journalists say they are facing, one reporter complained about pressure from the authorities when covering an exiled Chinese dissident’s visit.
“They told me he’s a ‘bad guy’ who likes to brag so why bother writing about him,” the reporter, who asked not to be named, said. “They believe they are doing the right thing for the big picture, for the greater good in history.”
While RSF said Taiwan’s press freedom was not in danger, it attributed the downgrading partly to the ruling party’s attempts to interfere in the media.
“The state must take action to improve records and prevent restrictions, violence or any sort of obstacle to the media freedom,” said Vincent Brossel, head of RSF’s Asia desk.
The index, based on questionnaires completed by hundreds of journalists and media experts, reflects press freedom violations that took place between September last year and August this year.
The government has denied interfering.
“We did not see any media being pressured for criticizing the government when it was not doing enough. The government humbly accepted the criticism,” Cabinet Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said.
Some observers and journalists say the RSF index is a warning of how far Taiwan is prepared to go to appease its giant neighbor.
“More media outlets are self-censoring on sensitive issues such as the Dalai Lama or Rebiya Kadeer by downplaying their coverage or focusing on negative angles,” said Leon Chuang (莊豐嘉), head of the Association of Taiwan Journalists.
Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of trying to separate Tibet from China and blames Kadeer for bloody ethnic unrest in her home region Xinjiang in July.
It all comes down to business, as public and private sectors aim to cash in on China’s economic clout, Chuang said, adding: “It is a threat to Taiwan’s press freedom and diversity. If this persists, we will only be getting select coverage and one-sided stories.”
Ties with China have improved since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) became president but were strained by the Dalai Lama’s recent visit. Beijing was also angered by screening of a Kadeer biopic but reportedly is planning to reward Taipei by signing a key financial pact after she was barred from visiting.
“We see political considerations weighing on the handling of news as the government makes the development of cross-strait ties its priority,” said Lo Shih-hung (羅世宏), a media expert at National Chung Cheng University.
‘HIDDEN GEM’: The city earned plaudits for its low crime rate, world-class healthcare system, cheap cost of living and easy public transportation Taipei has been named the 10th best city in the world for quality of living in an annual survey by the editors of Monocle, a UK-based global affairs and lifestyle magazine. The survey, which is to be published in the magazine’s July/August issue, selected the world’s top 25 cities based on factors including cost of living, retail, hospitality, culture and access to green spaces, as well as feedback from Monocle correspondents. Taipei’s 10th place finish was one place down from a year earlier. The survey ranked Copenhagen as the world’s best city, with Zurich, Lisbon, Helsinki and Stockholm rounding out the top five.
GLOBAL STRATEGY: Indo-Pacific alliances need reinforcement to prevent Chinese occupation of Taiwan, which would threaten Japan, Hawaii and Australia, Pompeo said The US should officially recognize Taiwan as a free, independent nation and establish official diplomatic ties, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo told an event at the Hudson Institute in Washington on Friday. Every US president since Harry Truman has considered Taiwan’s existence to be of utmost importance to US national security, Pompeo said. Taiwan is a principal US partner in technology and economic matters, and if China were to capture Taiwan’s semiconductor supply chain, it would severely hamper the US economy, Pompeo said. Should China occupy Taiwan, it would severely weaken US influence in the Indo-Pacific region and its surrounding areas,
NO COMORBIDITIES: The girl died of encephalitis, the sixth COVID-19-related death of the disease this year and 19th death of a child from the virus, the center said The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 52,213 new domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases and 171 deaths from the virus, including a four-year-old girl, who had been diagnosed with encephalitis, and a 19-year-old man, who had underlying health conditions. “The caseloads are usually higher on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but they [yesterday] fell 7.3 percent from the day before,” Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said. Chuang, who is the CECC’s spokesman, said that most cities and counties reported a drop in new cases, and the CECC expects fewer than 50,000 new cases today. The center said that 150 of
LIMIT: The CECC has capped the number of weekly arrivals to 25,000, which critics said has limited the number of available flights and caused ticket prices to soar The government is not likely to raise the cap on the number of inbound travelers before the end of this month, despite the apparent effect on the number of inbound flights, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said yesterday. The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Wednesday last week eased quarantine rules for inbound travelers, who must undergo three days of home quarantine upon arrival and spend another four days in self-initiated disease prevention. It also capped the number of inbound travelers to 25,000 per week. The weekly limit has drawn criticism that it has limited the number of flights
RSS