On May 3, the global press celebrated World Press Freedom Day. However, the Chinese Communist Party is said to be the biggest enemy of press freedom, and the Chinese press seems to have no connection with this holiday. Taiwan, on the other hand, is said to be a model in the Asia-Pacific region for maintaining a high level of press freedom against the backdrop of a tightening press environment in Asia.
The Voice of America quoted a senior Chinese journalist as saying that World Press Freedom Day has nothing to do with the Chinese and that it is “shameful and embarrassing” to have the Chinese comment on the holiday.
He said that as the space for expression has tightened and the overall political environment has deteriorated, many journalists in China have “gone silent” and rarely comment publicly on sensitive issues and current events, except to climb over walls for information. There is less and less room for investigative and in-depth reporting in China today, and “real journalism is dead.
Reporters Without Borders, an organization dedicated to promoting press freedom around the world, has described the CCP as “the biggest enemy of journalism around the world, and the biggest enemy of freedom of information around the world.
Cédric Alviani, director of RSF’s East Asia office, said the Chinese Communist Party has launched a “grand foreign propaganda campaign” to change its international image and distort independent journalism into a government propaganda effort that serves the interests of one party only. The Chinese Communist regime has not only suppressed its own people, but over the past decade, freedom of the press and information has suffered serious setbacks,” Alviani said.
Taiwan, on the other hand, has been hailed as a model of press freedom in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Voice of America cited comments that during the epidemic, authoritarian governments, including the Chinese Communist Party, took the opportunity to tighten restrictions on press freedom, making the press environment in Asia even tighter.
The commentators said that Taiwan is also under public pressure to prevent epidemics and is a major victim of the Chinese Communist Party’s disinformation attacks, but the Republic of China authorities have not taken the opportunity to tighten press freedom, but have cooperated with civil society organizations to deal with the crisis and continue to maintain a high level of press freedom.
Taiwan is not only a model of press freedom, but also the best representative of the fight against the Chinese Communist Party’s manipulation of the press, which is why Reporters Without Borders has set up its Asian headquarters in Taipei, according to Ai Wei-ang, who said that there are few true democracies in East Asia.
Recent Comments