Political observer Paul Lin (林保華) has warned against cross-strait reciprocal media offices, accusing Beijing of planning the offices to carry out infiltration and espionage and to wage a war of political propaganda.
On Sunday last week, Taiwan Affairs Office Director Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) called for an exchange of media offices, saying their establishment would contribute to peaceful development between the two sides and should be set up as soon as possible.
Lin said that Chinese state media outlets serve an entirely different function from the media in democratic countries, instead acting as the “voice of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Chinese journalists have to pass many levels of examination in an effort to ensure Beijing has total control of everyone in the media, he said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has gone further to tighten media controls, he said.
At the Chinese Nationwide Propaganda and Ideology Work Conference in August, Xi mandated all journalism schools and universities to make students attend courses on “Marxist views” of journalism. Reporters are required to take weekly classes to ensure “political consistency” with the Chinese Communist Party line.
“China is stringent about selecting journalists with the right training and qualifications for its foreign correspondent posts. It places loyalty to the party and to the country very highly,” Lin said.
“Most Chinese overseas personnel have undergone national security and intelligence training,” he added.
Lin cited the 1999 NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in which three Chinese journalists were among the victims as an example of the close working relationship between China’s journalists and its government.
“Taiwan is a democratic nation. When Chinese reporters come here, they can go almost anywhere to cover news and our government does not interfere. Visits to our military bases would not be blocked, posing a threat to national security,” he said.
Saying that there is no freedom of the press in China, Lin said: “It won’t be possible for Taiwan to have a fair and equal role in any cross-strait media exchange.”
“Instead of setting up reciprocal media offices, the ban on Taiwanese news Web sites in China should be lifted,” he said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS