Academics warn about
China¡¦s media influence
¡¥SINICIZATION¡¦: Much of the nation¡¦s media is
owned by tycoons with large investments in China, resulting in increasingly
pro-China reporting and Chinese influence over politics
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
Academics warned of a possible ¡§Sinicization¡¨ of Taiwanese media at a forum
yesterday, saying that civil society appeared to be the last line of defense
against fast-growing Chinese influence on local media.
The Chinese influence has been so intimidating that ¡§pro-China media now have
complete control of the direction of Taiwan¡¦s national development,¡¨ said Chen
Yao-hsiang (³¯Ä£²»), an assistant professor at National Taipei University¡¦s
Department of Public Administration and Policy.
Chen was among a panel of academics who expressed concern over Taiwan¡¦s media at
a forum organized by the Taiwan Association of University Professors (TAUP).
The current situation of Taiwanese media is similar to that of Hong Kong and
Macau¡¦s media before their handover to China in the late 1990s, when Beijing
bribed, sweet-talked and threatened media in the two regions to promote its
propaganda and ¡§brainwash¡¨ people, Chen said.
China is taking advantage of its state capitalist system and its fast-growing
economy to achieve political gains using economic strategies, including its work
on Taiwanese media, he said.
Lin Yu-huei (ªL¨|¥c), an assistant professor at Hungkuang University, said the
result of the Jan. 14 presidential election showed that the manner in which
Taiwanese media had developed had had a substantial impact on domestic politics
and could undermine Taiwan¡¦s democracy.
Over the years, ownership of much of Taiwan¡¦s media has been dominated by
business tycoons who have large investments in China, Lin said, citing the
examples of Want Want Group chairman and chief executive Tsai Eng-meng (½²l©ú),
Fubon Financial chairman Daniel Tsai (½²©ú©¾) and HTC Corp chairwoman Cher Wang
(¤ý³·¬õ).
Because of the ownership changes, she said, the operational plan of those
companies has changed and there has been increasing Chinese influence on news in
Taiwan.
The phenomenon has been part of Beijing¡¦s strategy to control Taiwan by
non-military measures and to counter Taiwan¡¦s democratic system. This has put
Taiwan in a dire situation, said Chou Chih-hung (©P§Ó§»), a assistant professor at
National Taipei University of Education.
¡§The main profit source for these owners is not the media company, but their
other investments in China. It seems to me that the only way to counter this
growing Chinese influence lies with the Taiwanese audience, either by boycotting
the media outlet or their products,¡¨ Chou said.
Lin Li-yun (ªLÄR¶³), director of National Taiwan University¡¦s School of Journalism,
said that civil society should play an important role in defending the integrity
of Taiwan¡¦s journalism.
However, the government should also follow the example of the British, Japanese
and South Korean governments and increase funding for public TV and broadcast
systems, she said.
A strong public media system will be able to balance out the current chaotic
development of private media outlets, she said.
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