There was only one voice and one newspaper under the past authoritarian regime; the only way to avoid imprisonment was to follow the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
At the time, anyone with some sense of vigilance knew that it was necessary to read between the lines when reading the newspaper: Relocating to Taiwan actually meant fleeing there, and when a top government official asked people not to celebrate his birthday, it was a signal to start preparing their birthday celebrations. This kind of interpretation was obvious to the public.
As times change, so do trends. Today, a diversity of voices can be heard in Taiwan, and there is no longer just one broadcaster. The dangwai (黨外, “outside the party”) movement and later the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have followed the changes among Taiwanese.
However, the KMT remains stuck in a time when everything it said counted, and it is doomed to wither away.
The party is seeking to stage a comeback, but it remains reluctant to follow Taiwanese. Instead, it is forging its own path paved with rumors.
Freedom of speech arrived in Taiwan at the same time as the online news revolution, destroying the professionalism of journalism almost overnight.
As long as live broadcasters, well-known commentators, a singer or an entertainer on social media gain a tiny bit of fame, they all seem to know everything about anything.
To boost their fame, they would say anything and comment on any issue. By simply adding words such as “allegedly,” “some say,” “it is reported” or “some question,” they can say anything they want, and their posts are likely to go viral on the Internet, bringing them more fame and wealth.
Unfortunately, most social media channels are one-person operations. Most of them have a wild imagination, but they lack fact-checking abilities and mechanisms. They report too impulsively or even engage in rumormongering based on ulterior motives.
Members of a curious audience would be misled if they do not act with caution, and stray down a path laid out by Taiwanese politicos and the Chinese government.
Taiwanese must not forget that Beijing aims to annex Taiwan, and that it is adept at spreading rumors to blind the minds of Taiwanese, as it tries to disturb social order and destroy mutual trust in the nation.
It is disturbing to see the social chaos caused by the cyberrevolution. In an authoritarian state, intellectuals and journalists thirst for freedom.
Surprisingly, after the nation finally freed itself from authoritarian rule, some Taiwanese intellectuals and journalists do not cherish the freedom they enjoy, and are instead helping totalitarian China subvert the Taiwanese government.
A democracy must firmly adhere to the freedoms of speech and the press, and it must not control the media and information like an authoritarian state.
To repudiate rumors online, Taiwanese must stay alert to all information, and question the credibility of the media and other sources of information at all times, so as not to be confused by the false information from hostile foreign forces and their domestic allies.
Some Taiwanese who are following the KMT have been deceived by the online rumor-mongering of celebrities and famous pundits.
In the fight against COVID-19 and potential Chinese annexation, Taiwanese must follow science and fact, not lies.
James Wang is a senior journalist.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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