Censorship in Taiwan

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In Taiwan, censorship involves the suppression of speech or public communication and raises issues of freedom of speech, which is protected by Article 11 of the Constitution of the Republic of China. Some laws restricting freedom of speech still exist, including defamation, breach of privacy, infringement of copyright, pornography, incitement to commit crimes, sale of prohibited items and distribution of offensive content. [1]

Contents

During the martial law in Taiwan from 1947 to 1987, the government exercised strict media control, initially carried out by the Nationalist government which governed mainland China prior to retreating to Taiwan in 1949. Under martial law, the Kuomintang (KMT)-ruled government engaged in censorship to prevent criticism of it, as part of its opposition to certain cultural products, and as a feature of anti-communist campaigns against the Chinese Communist Party. Media control was greatly relaxed when the state moved away from authoritarianism in 1987.

While most international organisations report that Taiwan respects freedom of speech, governmental measures at combating fake news often sparked controversy about the measurement constraint on freedom of expression, particularly among the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and their supporters. [2]

History

Japanese rule

In 1936 the Japanese authorities prohibited Lee Shih-chiao from exhibiting his painting Reclining Nude (橫臥裸婦) at the Taiyang Art Exhibition based on indecency. This instigated widespread protest from the Taiwanese art community as comparable works by western artists were held by Japanese and Taiwanese museums. [3]

Martial law

After Taiwan was handed over the Kuomintang-led Republic of China (ROC) from Japan in 1945 and the start of the 38-year martial law period, the ROC, as an authoritarian state, exercised strict control of the media. Parties other than the Kuomintang, such as the Chinese Youth Party and China Democratic Socialist Party, were banned and media advocating either democracy or Taiwan independence was banned. Taiwanese-language media was also banned, and children who spoke Taiwanese in school were physically punished. The revision of Criminal Acts against seditious speech in 1992 ended the persecution of political opponents. [ citation needed ]

Li Ao, a famous political activist in Taiwan, nationalist, and intellectual, had over 96 books banned from sale. Writer Bo Yang was jailed for eight years for his translation of the cartoon Popeye because the translation was interpreted as a criticism of leader Chiang Kai-shek. Musician Wen Hsia became known as the "king of banned songs" due to having more than 100 songs banned by the KMT authorities. [4]

During the martial law period, the KMT, the only paper to feature occasional moderate criticisms of the government (along with some of the best news reporting) was the Independence Evening Post . The publication was the first to send journalists to China four months after the lifting of martial law, despite government opposition. [5]

In 7 April, 1989, pro-democracy activist Cheng Nan-jung set himself on fire in support of freedom of speech. [6] Since the death of Cheng, Taiwan abolished the Publication Law and amended Cable Television Law in 1999. [7]

Current status

According to the United States State Department, the Taiwanese constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and the authorities generally respect these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combine to protect freedom of speech and press. [8] Reporters Without Borders reported that Taiwan "generally respects the principles of media freedom". [9] Brandon Tensley described the current issue of press freedom in 2019 Taiwan as: media sensationalism that undermines its credibility, Chinese propaganda influence, and potential abuse from governmental measurement to hold back the former two. [10]

Internet access

According to Freedom House, technical censorship "is not routine in Taiwan". [11] There are no official restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the authorities monitor e-mail or Internet chat rooms without judicial oversight. [8]

In 2012, the Government Information Office, the former main media censorship organisation, was disbanded. [12] Since 2016, this date of Cheng's death has been commemorated as Freedom of Speech Day in Taiwan. [6]

Taiwanese people generally do not self-censorship. However, several factors influence it. According to Freedom House, defamation laws and online harassment are major factors of self-censorship. [13] In 2023, "Cheap  [ zh ]" (Cheng Tsai-wei), a million-subscriber YouTuber in Taiwan, expressed that criticising the Democratic Progressive Party might face personal attacks from DPP supporters, he therefore felt unsafe on commenting local politics. Chiu Wei-chieh  [ zh ] agrees Cheap's expression. [14] [15]

In 2024, iWIN ordered some websites to remove illustrations sexually depicting fictional children, which triggered concerns of censorship in Taiwan. The Taiwanese government later issued a statement that only sexual images of children, pornographic drawings depicting real-life subjects, and realistic pornographic drawings generated by AI, are regulated. [13]

Chinese online services

Operating status and restrictions of Chinese online services are usually the concern of censorship in Taiwan. In August 2020, the Ministry of Economic Affairs banned Taiwanese agents or distributors from offering mainland Chinese internet audiovisual services such as iQIYI and Tencent WeTV. [16] Additionally, platforms like Taobao Taiwan were officially shut down. After the 2019 Double 11 shopping festival, the Taobao Taiwan app saw its download numbers exceed 2 million. [17] [18]

In December 2022, the Ministry of Digital Affairs declared that the mobile app Douyin and TikTok posed a threat to national cybersecurity. As a result, both the central government and local governments prohibited the downloading, installation, and use of Douyin or TikTok apps on government-issued smartphones, tablets, and computers. [19] [20]

In February 2025, Ministry of Digital Affairs announced it would block DeepSeek in government, citing security concerns. [21]

Political parties

During the martial law period, the Civil Associations Act (人民團體法) forbids people to establish political parties that promote separatism and communism. The article has been abolished in 2011. [22] In 2008, Taiwan Communist Party obtained registration as a political party, and became the 141st registered party in Taiwan. [23]

Under Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (中華民國憲法增修條文), The Judicial Yuan has the right to order "unconstitutional political parties" to dissolve if it endangers "the existence of the Republic of China or the nation's free and democratic constitutional order". Currently, the Constitutional Court takes the responsibility for that. On 6 November 2024, the Ministry of the Interior filed a lawsuit to seek banning the Chinese Unification Promotion Party for "posing a threat to democracy." [24]

Local media

The authority for censorship in Taiwan since 2006 is the National Communications Commission (NCC). [25] On 26 June 2006, news reports said that a review by the Council of Grand Justices of the ROC found that part of the National Communications Commission Organization Act (e.g. Article 4) is unconstitutional, and that after 31 December 2008 the law provision is invalid. [26]

In 2016, when the Taiwanese government proposed amendments to the Copyright Act that sparked concerns about online freedom of speech and expression. The proposed changes aimed to combat online piracy but were criticised for potentially infringing on individuals’ rights to freedom of speech. [27]

On December 12, 2020, CTi News was forced to cease broadcasting after the NCC decided not to renew its license, marking one of the rare instances of a television news station being taken off the air in Taiwan since the establishment of the NCC in 2006. [28] [29] CTi Television filed a lawsuit regarding this decision, and on 10 May 2023, the Taipei High Administrative Court ruled in favour of CTi Television in the first-instance verdict, annulled the NCC's decision not to renew the station's licence and remanded the case for further review. [30] [31] The NCC later denided the renew again. [32] Reporters Without Borders issued a statement, saying the refusal did not go against press freedom. [33] [34]

In November 2024, under government pressure, Public Television Service modified a news report regarding Donald Trump's election as President of the United States. The alteration followed a TaiwanPlus journalist Louise Watt's reference to Trump as a "convicted felon". Reporters Without Borders considered this as a factually accurate description, given his May 2024 criminal conviction by a US court for falsifying business records. Reporters Without Borders called on the Taiwanese government to commit to refraining from similar interference in news coverage in the future. [35]

Academia

On 5 January 2018, the National Taiwan University elected its 11th president, Kuan Chung-ming, who won with the highest number of votes. The Ministry of Education under the DPP refused to issue the appointment letter, citing procedural issues, which led to criticism from the academia. After two education ministers, namely Pan Wen-chung and Wu Maw-kuen, had stepped down due to this refusal, on 24 December 2018, Minister of Education Yeh Jiunn-rong stated that he grudgingly agreed to appoint Kuan Chung-ming as NTU's president, with the appointment to take effect on 8 January 2019. Yeh faced accusations of handling the matter hastily, and subsequently resigned in response. [36] [37]

During a lecture on 10 April 2020, Chao Ming-wei, an associate professor at Chung Yuan Christian University, referred to COVID-19 as "Wuhan pneumonia," which prompted a mainland Chinese student to file a complaint accusing him of discrimination. In response, Chao apologised during the lecture, emphasising that, "as a professor of the Republic of China," he did not engage in discriminatory behaviour. On 14 April, he was called to a meeting with the university’s dean and associate dean of academic affairs, who criticised his apology for inappropriately highlighting his identity as a "professor of the Republic of China." They warned that failure to amend his remarks could result in the case being referred to the university's ethics committee. Under these circumstances, Chao felt compelled to issue a second apology. [38]

Relationship with China

The stance and measurement over the influence from the People's Republic of China is an active area of controversy.

Reporters Without Borders and Freedom House both address disinformation from China, and self-censorship in China-related issues. [9] [39] According to a 2019 report by Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem), Taiwan was one of the democracies most targeted by false information from foreign governments. [39] Brandon Tensley described Chinese propaganda influence as a "threat" to press freedom in Taiwan. [10]

In 2017, Lee Ming-che, a Taiwanese activist, was arrested by the Chinese government and sentenced to five years imprisonment for "subverting state power". According to Freedom House, Lee's social media feeds were used as evidence of his crime. [39] In 2019, Financial Times correspondent Kathrin Hille reported that the Chinese government intervened in the China Times , a pro-PRC media run by Taiwanese conglomerate Want Want group, that has deep business ties with China. The China Times filed a libel suit against Kathrin Hille after the report. [40]

On the other hand, whether Chinese media should regulate or not is also controversial. For example, satellite channels perceived to adopt a pro-PRC or pro-unification editorial stance, such as Phoenix TV, were refused landing rights in Taiwan by the DPP-controlled government. Similarly, correspondent offices representing the PRC government-controlled Xinhua News Agency and the People's Daily were closed by the DPP-controlled government. These policies were reversed after the election of the Kuomintang in 2008. [41] In 2011, however, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) rejected the application from the Xinhua News Agency to set up an office in Taipei 101, citing its potential political intention. [42] By June 2024, seven Chinese media organisations had a total of ten journalists stationed in Taiwan. These included two journalists from Xinhua News Agency, three from China Central Television, and one journalist each from People's Daily, China National Radio, China News Service, Xiamen TV, and Hunan TV. [43] [44]

In June 2024, local media reported that a journalist from Xinhua News Agency in Taiwan has participated in the production of local television programmes. National Security Bureau Director Tsai Ming-yen confirmed that the bureau had received intelligence on the matter but emphasised that the bureau did not possess judicial investigative powers. [43] [44] The NCC stated it had not received any official report of the incident, after a DPP legislator claimed to have reported the issue two months earlier. [45] Subsequently, the MAC announced the results of its investigation. Both the Chinese journalist and the Taiwanese television station involved denied the allegations and the media outlet that originally reported the claim was found to lack a valid source of information. The MAC stated that while the reporting on this issue did not breach journalistic professionalism, it declined to disclose the source of the information or the specific media outlet referenced in its findings. [46]

In December 2024, the MAC announced plans to prohibit the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation from inviting mainland Chinese students to Taiwan. This decision followed a controversy during a press conference where a Chinese student referred to Taiwan as "China Taipei" instead of "Chinese Taipei," sparking criticism from the ruling DPP. In response, Ma Ying-jeou urged the MAC to avoid adopting what he described as a "martial law mentality" that could hinder cross-strait exchanges. [47]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "言論自由". 中小學資訊素養認知網.
  2. ↑ "DPP says free speech not a shield for media outlets". Taipei Times. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  3. ↑ Cheung, Han (12 July 2020). "Taiwan in Time: Private parts not allowed". www.taipeitimes.com. Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  4. ↑ Kuan-yin, Yeh; Lo, James (7 April 2022). "Taiwan's 'king of banned songs' Wen Hsia dies at 93". focustaiwan.tw. Focus Taiwan. Archived from the original on 7 August 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  5. ↑ Han Cheung (11 September 2016). "Taiwan in time: Freedom of the press, China style". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Ministry announces Freedom of Speech Day events". Taipei Times. 5 April 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  7. ↑ Chen, Marlene (1999). "Legislative Yuan's Eleventh-Hour Rush". Sinorama (2). Translated by Brent Heinrich.
  8. 1 2 "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015". 2009-2017.state.gov. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  9. 1 2 "Taiwan". Reporters Without Borders . 13 December 2023. Archived from the original on 7 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  10. 1 2 Tensley, Brandon; Garcia-Millan, Tania; Gelman, Jeffrey; Madan, Tanvi; Moore, Scott; Pryor, Crystal; Reijula, Lisa; Smolinske, Nicole; Weatherby, Courtney (2019). The Implications of Taiwan's Growing Media Challenges (Report). Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). pp. 37–41.
  11. ↑ "Taiwan: Freedom on the Net 2023 Country Report". Freedom House . Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  12. ↑ "Taiwan Information Office Closes". Voice of America. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  13. 1 2 "Taiwan: Freedom on the Net 2024 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  14. ↑ "「罵民進黨會被抄家」網紅慘遭側翼出征 呱吉表態挺Cheap：比20年前更加不自由". www.ctwant.com (in Chinese). 21 October 2023.
  15. ↑ 鍾知諭 (21 October 2023). "網紅Cheap稱「罵民進黨會被抄家」 賴清德說話了". www.upmedia.mg . Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  16. ↑ 立法院 (23 July 2013). "立法院". 立法院 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  17. ↑ 記者劉季清, 工商時報 (15 October 2020). "震撼！淘寶台灣今關閉平台 年底退出台灣 - 今周刊". www.businesstoday.com.tw (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  18. ↑ "台湾禁止爱奇艺和腾讯等中国大陆公司在台代理经营网络视听服务". 美国之音 (in Chinese). 20 August 2020. Archived from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  19. ↑ "台湾宣布禁止公部门资通设备及所属场域使用抖音及Tik Tok". 美国之音 (in Chinese). 10 December 2022. Archived from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  20. ↑ 整理, 胡肇芳 (12 December 2022). "公務員禁用抖音、違規就懲處！4大公部門研擬跟進行政院，羅秉成：禁止範圍包含三大類，涉及國安將記過 - 今周刊". www.businesstoday.com.tw (in Chinese). Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  21. ↑ "Taiwan says government departments should not use DeepSeek, citing security concerns". Reuters . 31 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  22. ↑ 不得主張共產分裂國土 刪除 Archived 2015-02-06 at the Wayback Machine ，中央社，2011/05/16 (in Chinese)
  23. ↑ 陳思穎 台北報導，〈人民可主張共產！　內政部：「台灣共產黨」申請備案獲准〉 Archived 2012-09-04 at archive.today ，《NOWnews》2008-08-12 (in Chinese)
  24. ↑ "Interior ministry seeks to dissolve Chinese Unification Promotion Party - Focus Taiwan". Focus Taiwan - CNA English News. 6 November 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  25. ↑ "National Communications Commission Organization Act", Presidential Announcement, Gazette of the Office of the President No. 6658, November 9, 2005. Archived 15 August 2007.
  26. ↑ "Experimenting Independent Commissions in Taiwan's Civil Administrative Law System: Perils and Prospects" Archived June 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine , Jiunn-rong Yeh, Workshop on Comparative Administrative Law, Yale Law School, 8 May 2009. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  27. ↑ "TIPO announces draft amendments to Copyright Law". www.iam-media.com. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  28. ↑ 黃有容、何醒邦 (19 November 2020). "NCC列四大理由 不予中天新聞台換照" (in Chinese). 聯合報. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  29. ↑ "屢罰不改 蔡衍明涉介入製播 中天新聞台不獲續牌". am730 . 19 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  30. ↑ 陳祖傑／綜合報導 (10 May 2023). "關台880天 台北高等行政法院宣判中天勝訴". 公視新聞網 PNN. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  31. ↑ 聯合新聞網. "中天新聞贏了！遭不予換照關台近3年 法院今撤銷處分". 聯合新聞網 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  32. ↑ 陳冠勳; 陳立峰 (10 May 2023). "NCC拒中天新聞台換照 北高行撤銷處分 ｜ 公視新聞網 PNN". 公視新聞網 PNN (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  33. ↑ "Taiwan: the non-renewal of CTi news channel's licence does not go against press freedom". rsf.org. 20 November 2020.
  34. ↑ "Taiwan: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  35. ↑ "Taiwan: RSF denounces rare and worrying act of censorship by the government". rsf.org. 14 November 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  36. ↑ 管中閔擔任台大校長 教育部勉予同意 Archived 2018-12-24 at the Wayback Machine ,中央社，2018年12月24日
  37. ↑ 馮靖惠.台大校長遴選進度說明記者會 Archived 2019-02-15 at the Wayback Machine .聯合新聞網.2018-12-24
  38. ↑ "台北一周 - 綠營仇中立場嚴重影響是非判斷力". RFI - 法國國際廣播電台 (in Traditional Chinese). 15 May 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  39. 1 2 3 "Taiwan: Freedom on the Net 2023 Country Report". Freedom House . Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  40. ↑ "Taiwan: Abusive libel suit against Financial Times correspondent". rsf.org. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  41. ↑ Zeldin, Wendy. "China; Taiwan: Reunification Talks Resume After Almost a Decade". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Archived from the original on 28 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  42. ↑ "新華社被拒在台北租設辦公室". Now 新聞 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 13 August 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  43. 1 2 "中媒盯梢案調查中！文化部：計有10名中媒記者駐台 該新華社記者為「任滿離境」". www.ftnn.com.tw (in Chinese). 4 July 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  44. 1 2 許榛玲. "吵了14天...中媒盯梢台灣政論節目案 國安局長鬆口：另有情資已移動調查局". www.cmmedia.com.tw (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  45. ↑ TaiSounds, 太報. "傳中媒介入政論節目製播！ NCC：未接獲民眾檢舉 還不知是哪家電視台違規". 太報 TaiSounds (in Chinese). Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  46. ↑ 陳思妤 (9 July 2024). "傳中國記者盯梢台灣政論 行政調查出爐「資訊將提供檢調」". 民視新聞網 (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  47. ↑ "Ma Ying-jeou Foundation could be banned from holding exchange events: MAC - Focus Taiwan". Focus Taiwan - CNA English News. 5 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
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