Taiwan ranked 47th in the world in terms of press freedom and first in Asia last year, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), a press freedom watchdog body.
Although Taiwan fell two places from the previous year in the global rankings, it remained at the top in the region, ahead of South Korea in 50th place and Japan at 53rd.
Japan dropped from 22nd to 53rd globally, mainly due to a lack of transparency and access to information directly or indirectly related to an accident at its Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in 2011, the report said.
Hong Kong and Singapore were ranked 58th and 149th respectively.
Benjamin Ismail, head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific Desk, said the watchdog was concerned about the protests in Taiwan last year against the Want Want China Times Group’s (旺旺中時集團) bid to buy into another media group.
Malaysia dropped 23 places to its lowest position ever because access to information is becoming more and more limited there, the report said.
Cambodia was ranked 143rd, plunging 26 places because of its increasing authoritarianism and censorship, the report said. North Korea (178th), China (173rd), Vietnam (172nd) and Laos (168th), all ruled by authoritarian parties, still refused to grant their citizens the freedom to be informed, the RSF report said.
The control of news and information is a key issue for these governments, which fear being open to criticism, it said.
In Vietnam and China, those involved in online news and information, such as bloggers and netizens, are forced to deal with increasingly harsh repression, RSF said in the report.
It said many Tibetan monks have been convicted or abducted for having sent information abroad about the state of human rights in Tibet.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS