Press and Political Liberalization in Taiwan

Abstract

The political reforms set into motion after the lifting of the thirty-eight-year-long martial law in 1987 in Taiwan have breathed a new life into the island's press. This article explores the factors contributing to the emergence of political pluralism and the status of press freedom in Taiwan. Based on field research, the article notes that Confucian humanism, socioeconomic progress, and communication revolution have facilitated the democratization process and, therefore, freedom of the press. As a result, Taiwan now has a vibrant press, but further improvements are needed in press law and media ownership patterns to secure a stronger framework for press freedom.

Knowledge about the Gulf Wars

“…In 1991, Taiwan's newspapers already enjoyed broader freedom in news coverage. After the lifting of martial law in 1987 and newspaper restrictions in 1988, newspapers were free to release information or comments on the performance of any government official or public figure.The numbers of registered newspapers grew from 31 in 1987 to 249 in 1992 (Government Information Office 1993), although only 25 were widely read.The two largest dailies, the United Daily News and China Times, dominated the market, accounting for more than two-thirds of the total daily newspaper circulation in Taiwan.The number of pages for the largest dailies also expanded from twelve in 1987 to range from thirty to fifty per issue in the early 1990s (Rampal 1994). Although most papers devoted considerable space to Gulf War coverage, most of the straight news originated from major Western news agencies such as the Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters, and Agence France Presse (Lo 1994).…”

Traditional Journalism in Transition

“…The industry is not always conducive to serving the public interests. For Taiwan citizens, the existing media environment might hinder public access to vital information that journalists previously uncovered through traditional and independent investigative reporting (for example , Rampal 1994;Rawnsley 2000). Public forums to express social, political, economic and cultural views could also be restricted when organizations pay for media coverage (LaMay 2001).…”

“…News outlets in Taiwan previously provided comprehensive, independent coverage of China (for example, Committee to Protect Journalists 2014a; Ramzy 2014), including open expression of opinions concerning the Taiwan independence movement (Rampal 1994). Some scholars contended that Taiwan media professionals had continued to serve the public interest.…”