Scholars and media representatives yesterday urged both Taiwan and China to lift restrictions on cross-strait news coverage -- and to give greater freedom to journalists on both sides of the strait.
The call was made at a seminar at which representatives of Taiwan's media were unanimous in their view that cross-strait news coverage on both sides lacks objectivity. They say this is the case because both governments enforce strict restrictions against journalists from the other side.
Currently, both Taiwan and China allow journalists from the other side to remain in their sovereign territories for no longer than a month. Taiwan allows four media organizations from China to station journalists in Taiwan at any given time, while China allows eight Taiwanese media organizations to post reporters in China.
China's government, however, requires Taiwanese media to apply for permission to cover all stories, while the Taiwan government makes no such demand of Chinese journalists.
China first began allowing Taiwanese correspondents to cover news in China 14 years ago, while Taiwan lifted its ban on journalists from China reporting in Taiwan in November of last year.
The Taiwanese government has often voiced concern about Chinese correspondents covering news from Taiwan in a negative manner, while strict control by Chinese authorities means that Taiwan's media outlets rarely report negative stories about China.
Chen Kuo-hsiang (陳國祥), president of the China Times Express, argued that China's rigid control means that Taiwanese journalists lack the freedom to report, which results in Taiwan's newspapers getting few opportunities to report objectively and completely.
"Taiwanese journalists always have to worry whether they will be allowed to cover stories in China again if they report on sensitive issues," Chen said.
Huang Chin-chu (
Chen Kuo-hsiang was also critical of Taiwanese media's coverage of China, saying that they pay too much attention to political issues but ignore "coverage of China's social issues, such as social unrest."
George Shuang (項國寧), president of the Min Sheng Daily, echoed Chen's remarks and said that both sides' news coverage "is too preoccupied with politics, which distorts the news."
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