Expressing his views on the media, President Chen Shui-bian (
"The media do pursue the truth," Chen writes, "but I wish the media would not only be crows that `caw' over tragic news, but also be magpies that cheer when there is happy news."
Chen made the remarks in the book The Premier Voyage of the Century (世紀首航), which will appear on bookshelves this week to mark his first 500 days in office.
Commenting on officials who were declared guilty of leaking confidential information to journalists, Chen said that reporters should bear national security in mind "because nothing would be left without the existence of the nation.
"I completely understand the concept of being a devoted reporter, but being the president, I have to put national security first, Chen writes."
In August, Major Liu Chih-chung (
Lo Chih-hao (
Chen also had a few words for TV talk shows, saying "everytime I think about the channels spending so much resource commenting on me, I think it is a shame."
Political call-in shows enjoy enormous popularity in Taiwan. A dozen political call-in programs are broadcast on approximately 10 cable channels.
A typical one-hour program combines the audience's call-in opinions and questions with those of politicians, scholars and journalists. Given that Taiwan's media is dominated by those who favor unification with China, most of the programs are critical of the Chen administration.
Attempting to point the media in a more neutral direction, President Chen offered guidelines for the media, calling them "the media's new middle way."
"The media should report more good news -- emphasizing stories that demonstrate the positive qualities of human nature," Chen writes. "The media must strike a balance between the speed with which it reports and the depth with which it does so."
The press must balance its freedom with the exercise of self-restraint; it must balance its coverage of Taiwanese news and overseas news, it must better balance its coverage of disasters and pleasant events, Chen states.
The president took a humorous approach in commenting on the media's frequent use of the phrase "said a high-ranking presidential official."
"Every morning, two military police officers go to the roof to raise the flag. These two officers are the highest-ranking presidential officials. Of course, they won't talk recklessly to outsiders," the president said.
"We can be sure that not all remarks made by unidentified presidential officials are credible."
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
The Executive Yuan yesterday warned against traveling to or doing business in China after reports that Beijing is recruiting Taiwanese to help conceal the use of forced Uighur labor. The government is aware that Taiwan-based influencers and businesses are being asked to make pro-Beijing content and offered incentives to invest in the region, Executive Yuan acting spokeswoman Julia Hsieh (謝子涵) told a news conference. Taiwanese are urged to be aware of the potential personal and reputational harm by visiting or operating businesses in China, Hsieh said, adding that agencies are fully apprised of the situation. A national security official said that former Mainland
RSS