Taiwan moved up eight positions to 27th in the latest World Press Freedom Index released Friday by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an international non-profit organization that focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information.
The index’s top three spots went to Norway, Denmark and Sweden, in that order, with the three Nordic countries considered to have a “good” media environment.
Taiwan’s ranking placed it fourth in the Asia-Pacific region, behind New Zealand, Samoa and East Timor, which were ranked 19th, 20th and 22nd, respectively, but ahead of Australia (39th), South Korea (62nd), Japan (70th) and Thailand (87th).
Photo grab from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) website
“Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is a liberal democracy and the world’s 21st largest economy that generally respects the principles of media freedom,” the RSF said.
Taiwan was among the 37 countries listed in the index as having a “satisfactory” media environment.
However, according to the non-profit organization, Taiwanese journalists “still suffer from a very polarized media environment dominated by sensationalism and the pursuit of profit.”
The RSF also cited a 2022 Reuters Institute survey showing that Taiwanese people have one of the lowest levels of trust in the media among democratic countries, ranking it last in the Asia-Pacific region with a trust score of only 28 percent due to the media’s vulnerability to China’s disinformation.
Meanwhile, the Asia-Pacific region is the world’s second most difficult region to practice journalism, the RSF said, indicating that Myanmar, China, North Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan are among the world’s 10 most dangerous countries for media personnel.
Hong Kong is ranked 135th with China 172nd among 180 countries and regions. China has the largest known number of imprisoned journalists in the world at 119, including 10 Hong Kong journalists. The RSF described China as the “world’s largest prison for journalists,” as its regime conducts a campaign of repression against journalism and the right to information worldwide.
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