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A free press is essential to promote
democracy
By Lu I-ming 呂一銘
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has had a grip on “total power” for two-and-a-half
years. He has used this time to amend many laws, using them as effective weapons
to suppress enemies and control the media without the need for further action.
Relying on what is popularly called the “big mouth clause” in the draft
political appointee act, for example, he can dismiss people from their post
without having to give reasons.
He may well respect the independence of the judiciary, but he can also
promulgate a judges’ act or set up an anti-corruption office and have people do
things “in accordance with the law” on his behalf. For example, shortly after
Judge Chou Chan-chun (周占春) declared former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁)
innocent of the charges against him in connection with the second financial
reform, prosecutors charged him with leaking information about witnesses. He has
even more cards up his sleeve for dealing with media outlets that don’t toe the
line — revoking ERA TV’s licence is just one case — setting an example for
others.
The Computer-Processed Personal Data Protection Act (電腦處理個人資料保護法), the Measure
Governing the Rating Systems of Publications and Pre-recorded Video Programs
(出版品及錄影節目帶分級辦法) — a Publishing Act in disguise — the Regulations for the Rating
of Internet Content (電腦網路內容分級處理辦法) and the Regulations for the Rating of TV
Content (電視節目分級處理辦法), as well as Article 235 of the Criminal Code concerning the
violation of social decency and the Children and Youth Welfare Act (兒童及少年福利法),
can all be used against disobedient media outlets, or to block licence
applications, as in the case of the Apple Daily and Next Media.
The National Communications Commission (NCC) has its own weapons as detailed in
the Broadcasting and Television Act (廣播電視法) and the Satellite Broadcasting Act
(衛星廣播電視法), which allow it to force programs off the air.
This is all done within the law, the best example being Ma’s assertion that
judicial independence is above what the public wants or finds acceptable, just
before he himself made remarks about the Judge’s Law (法官法).
Following the NCC’s recent decision, Ma once again said that the president
should not interfere with the NCC as it is an independent institution and that
it should be allowed to carry out its duties.
Anyone familiar with officialdom in Taiwan knows of the unspoken rule that you
can legislate until the cows come home, but in the end it’s where the power lies
that counts. In other words, not one person in officialdom is unaware of the
importance of toadying to their superiors and, even better, trying to
second-guess the boss. There will be no improvements in the civil service until
the dictatorial bent of the powers-that-be recedes. All the talk of laws and
reform are just that, talk.
In 2008, Ma signed a pledge opposing embedded marketing of a political nature,
but since then the government has continued to use taxpayers’ money for this
purpose. According to ratings published late last year by AC Nielsen,
advertising for the top 50 government agencies topped NT$1.24 billion (US$42
million), and the combined advertising and PR budget for the Mainland Affairs
Council (陸委會) was as high as NT$180 million. These attempts to strip the fourth
estate of its right of supervision and oversight threatens to destroy the core
value of news reporting. This attack on the freedom of the press could force
Taiwan even further down international ratings. The Economist Intelligence
Unit’s Democracy Index, compiled by the UK’s Economist magazine, has even
returned Taiwan to the “flawed democracy” category.
Lu I-ming is a former publisher and president of Taiwan Shin
Sheng Daily News.
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