It would be hard to miss the non-stop reporting on cable news channels about the details of the everyday life of president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (
After Ma won Saturday's presidential election, cable news stations rushed to bring viewers almost instantaneous coverage on a variety of his personal details.
The stations are pulling out all the stops. Topping the news on cable channels are what the president-elect likes and dislikes, how he likes his hair cut and how he styles it, his zodiac sign and whether he and his wife Chow Mei-ching (
It may seem like the staff at these news channels have reverted to junior high crushes, but even so the conspicuously positive reporting is reminiscent of the days of dictatorship. The overt attempts to present Ma as charming may cast doubt on the media's progress since the days when it was a key tool of idol-making in the service of Chiang Kai-shek (
The next president clearly deserves public attention, but cable news stations are focusing on inane personal details instead of any number of crucial issues he will soon have to face as president.
The media's depiction of Ma as almost flawless in his patriotism and kindness is disturbingly similar to the quaint anecdotes of the Martial Law era that were designed to inspire awe and loyalty to Chiang Kai-shek.
Back then, Taiwanese were fed stories about his childhood and impeccable behavior while growing up. Likewise, Taiwanese were told that every act Chiang Ching-kuo performed reflected his love of the people.
The media circus over the past few days does not augur well. After Ma's inauguration on May 20, will these channels offer fair and balanced coverage of Ma's successes and follies or will they seek to embellish their image of him?
Ma has long said that Chiang Ching-kuo was his idol. The public no doubt hopes he will mimic Chiang Ching-kuo's achievements in terms of the nation's economic development and show a fervent desire to develop Taiwan.
But the public should also want fair and unbiased media coverage of his administration. The media serve to check those in power, not help them by promoting a skewed picture of who they are and what they do.
The starstruck behavior of news outlets is cause for concern -- no leader should be allowed to escape the scrutiny of professional media coverage that has the public's best interests in mind.
The day after Ma was elected, cable news channels spent little air time on the plight of Tibetans as China continued its crackdown, nor the cries of Tibetans exiled in Taiwan as they fasted in front of Liberty Square.
This is hardly flattering to an institution that sometimes calls itself the "fourth estate" and claims it fights for the public's right to know.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then