GIO minister lauds Reporters without Borders for promoting press freedoms

Government Information Office Minister Cheng Wen-tsang met with Reporters without Borders Secretary-General Robert Menard at the GIO on Monday. During the meeting, Minister Cheng praised the organization as an international organization that aims to operate without any political considerations. He said that Asia's emerging democratic nations and Reporters without Borders should both express even more concern about the lack of press freedom in China.

Cheng said that Taiwan's democracy and freedom of the press go hand in hand. He added that Taiwan has an extremely diverse and lively media industry, with a "clear line between politics and media." After the government abolished the Publications Law, total freedom was afforded to newspapers, books, magazines and other printed matter in Taiwan. As a result, Taiwan has one of the liveliest democracies among newly democratic countries in Asia.

Cheng said that any issue regarding freedom of the press in Taiwan attracts wide attention and discussion. He said that Taiwan places great importance on the reports issued by Reporters without Borders and Freedom House. He said the scores that these organizations give to Taiwan are delivered with good intentions and help Taiwan see where any problems may be and to correct them.

He added that the government and the Association of Taiwan Journalists maintain a good relationship. He also noted that Reporters without Borders has provided significant assistance in enabling members of the Taiwan media to be present at the World Health Assembly and the General Assembly of the United Nations over the past few years.

Cheng said the government is even more concerned now about the issue of press freedom in China, since freedom of the press is the first step in national reform. Presently, the press in China faces limits virtually across the board, he said. Cheng added that last year the Chinese government made "inappropriate demands" on four American Web site portals, including Yahoo!, Google, MSN and Cisco. The country with the largest number of Internet police is China, he said. For instance, the central government often interferes with local media sources in China that post various articles. Nonetheless, some opposition voices are still getting through.

Cheng stressed that in Taiwan's process of evolving from an authoritarian government to a democracy, establishing freedom of the press was crucial. He said that many of Taiwan's democracy leaders 20 years ago prior to the establishment of the Democratic Progress Party, were involved in the publishing of magazines. At the time, there were over 100 "opposition" magazines. In addition, current President Chen Shui-bian was jailed for his role in a magazine. Restrictions on the media at the time made it impossible to air opposition beliefs. As a result, people involved in the opposition at the time sold videotapes that expressed their views. The tapes were sold to supporters as a means to raise money. This was an important breakthrough in freedom of expression in Taiwan, helping to pave the way for democratization, he said.

Cheng added that given the hard won achievements over the years, the people of Taiwan cherish press freedom that is afforded under democracy. He stressed that democracy and freedom of the press are entrenched in Taiwan and the nation will not move backwards. Regardless of political developments here in the future, Taiwan absolutely will not return to an authoritarian system.

Cheng said that when he was a student at National Taiwan University, he was the head of a student publication and participated in the "Free Love" movement, seeking the abolishment of rules that publications needed to be screened and go before censors before they could be published. This was a critical move in achieving freedom of speech on school campuses. He said that he became very experienced in dealing with the government.

He also said that Taiwan also wants to prove to the world that Chinese are able to achieve a pluralistic society that has freedom of the press, and that this is what marks a healthy society. He said that Taiwan hopes to serve as a beacon of light, and that this is the reason that Taiwan wants to see freedom of the press and democracy develop in China.

Cheng also said that there are times when Taiwan is criticized by international press organizations for various things that happen here. He said the government is introspective and considers whether safeguards for freedom of the press here are sufficient. He also said that presently, Taiwan is not facing political pressure in this regard, but rather market pressures. He said the government is looking into how to assist journalists to carry out their work without being influenced by big money. He noted that another focus of the government is to promote media and civil journalism rights.

Cheng said the power of the pen is far greater than the power of the sword. People are able to ponder ideas, and this includes people in China. He said many people in China do not overly believe the official press there. As a result, we cannot underestimate the influence of Reporters without Borders in China. Cheng noted the enormous influence that intellectuals have in China. He said freedom of the press can serve as a means of support for China. He said that if China is able to overcome many press restrictions it presently faces, he is confident that it would be the beginning of many changes in China. It is for this reason that emerging democracies in Asia and Reporters without Borders need to pay even more attention to the state of press freedom in China, Cheng said.

Reporters without Borders Secretary-General Robert Menard said that there are two reasons that his organization requires the help of Taiwan. First is the issue of China, and second is the issue that there are presently 80 journalists in China who have been imprisoned. He said that if all parties cooperate, there will be a day when these 80 journalists are able to go free. Mr. Menard said Taiwan already has a solid democracy. Even though there are still some problems to be addressed, Taiwan, he said, is undeniably a very democratic nation. He also said that one responsibility that democratic nations must shoulder is to assist countries that are not democracies to become democratic. He called on Minister Cheng to also pay attention to these issues.

Mr. Menard also said that in the run-up to the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, the Chinese government has faced pressure to change its image. He urged the Taiwanese government to take advantage of the opportunity and put more pressure on China. Mr. Menard also stressed that in the future, if China again tries to prevent members of the Taiwanese media from being allowed in to report on happenings at the World Health Organization, Reporters without Borders will take action to ensure the rights of the Taiwanese media.