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Censorship in Taiwan was greatly relaxed when the state moved away from authoritarianism in 1987. Since then, the media has generally been allowed to broadcast political opposition. Today, the focus of censorship is slander and libel, cross-Strait relations, and national security.
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In 1936 the Japanese authorities prohibited Lee Shih-chiao from exhibiting his painting Reclining Nude (橫臥裸婦) at the Taiyang Art Exhibition on the basis of indecency. This instigated widespread protest from the Taiwanese art community as comparable works by western artists were held by Japanese and Taiwanese museums. [1]
In 1941, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the second volume of the book "Inside Asia", by John Gunther, was prohibited and censored by the Chinese government. [2]
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. 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. 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 ]
Musician Wen Hsia became known as the "king of banned songs" due to having more than 100 songs banned by the KMT authorities. [3]
Censorship laws remain in place as applicable to the Taiwan Area, but are not enforced with the former rigour. The main areas of censorship, or alleged censorship, occur in the realms of politics, cross-Strait relations, and national security. The principal organs of censorship are the National Communications Commission (NCC) and former Government Information Office (GIO). The formerly murky lines of control exercised by the government over the media through party-ownership of media assets during the Kuomintang era have now been resolved by the progressive divestiture of such assets by the Kuomintang under sustained pressure from the Democratic Progressive Party.
Laws governing elections and politics restrict the publication and broadcasting of political material. For example, in the local elections of 2005, CDs with videos ridiculing candidates were confiscated in accordance to the Election and Recall Act. Laws prohibiting the promotion of Communism has already abolished in 2011. [4] For example, Taiwan Communist Party obtaining registration as a political party in 2008, and become the 141st registered party in Taiwan. [5]
More covert moves have also been made by the government to censor unfavorable media. In 2006 under Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration, the independent National Communications Commission (NCC) refused to renew the broadcasting licenses of certain television channels suggesting that the broadcasters were not in compliance with broadcasting standards.[ citation needed ]
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. [6] The authorities continually refused to allow it to publish for the more lucrative morning market until 1988.
The use of overt and covert censorship in relation to mainland China and the People's Republic of China is an active area of controversy. 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. [7]
According to a survey conducted by Taiwan's Institute for Information Industry, an NGO, 81.8% of households had access to the Internet at the end of 2011.
The 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. 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]
The authority for censorship in Taiwan since 2006 is the National Communications Commission (NCC). [9] 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. [10]
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre to centre-left political party in Taiwan. It is currently the major ruling party in Taiwan, controlling both the presidency and the central government, also the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition.
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially based on the Chinese mainland and then in Taiwan since 1949. KMT is a centre-right to right-wing party and the largest in the Pan-Blue Coalition. Its primary rival is the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its allies in the Pan-Green Coalition. As of 2024, the KMT is the largest single party in the Legislative Yuan. The current chairman is Eric Chu.
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is governed in a framework of a representative democratic republic under a five-power system first envisioned by Sun Yat-sen in 1906, whereby under the constitutional amendments, the President is head of state and the Premier is head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the Executive Yuan. Legislative power is vested primarily in the Legislative Yuan. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. In addition, the Examination Yuan is in charge of validating the qualification of civil servants, and the Control Yuan inspects, reviews, and audits the policies and operations of the government.
The Taiwan independence movement is a political movement which advocates the formal declaration of an independent and sovereign Taiwanese state, as opposed to Chinese unification or the status quo in Cross-Strait relations.
The term One China may refer, in alphabetical order, to one of the following:
The Constitution of the Republic of China is the fifth and current constitution of the Republic of China (ROC), ratified by the Kuomintang during the Constituent National Assembly session on 25 December 1946, in Nanjing, and adopted on 25 December 1947. The constitution, along with its Additional Articles, remains effective in ROC-controlled territories.
The Kaohsiung Incident, also known as the Formosa Incident, the Meilidao Incident, or the Formosa Magazine incident, was a crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations that occurred in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on 10 December 1979 during Taiwan's martial law period.
The history of the Republic of China began in 1912 with the end of the Qing dynasty, when the Xinhai Revolution and the formation of the Republic of China put an end to 2,000 years of imperial rule. The Republic experienced many trials and tribulations after its founding which included being dominated by elements as disparate as warlord generals and foreign powers.
As a result of the surrender and occupation of Japan at the end of World War II, the islands of Taiwan and Penghu were placed under the governance of the Republic of China (ROC), ruled by the Kuomintang (KMT), on 25 October 1945. Following the February 28 massacre in 1947, martial law was declared in 1949 by the Governor of Taiwan, Chen Cheng, and the ROC Ministry of National Defense. Following the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the ROC government retreated from the mainland as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China. The KMT retreated to Taiwan and declared Taipei the temporary capital of the ROC. For many years, the ROC and PRC each continued to claim in the diplomatic arena to be the sole legitimate government of "China". In 1971, the United Nations expelled the ROC and replaced it with the PRC.
The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan is the largest Protestant Christian denomination based in Taiwan.
This is a timeline of the Republic of China.
Presidential elections were held in Taiwan on 22 March 2008. Kuomintang (KMT) nominee Ma Ying-jeou won with 58% of the vote, ending eight years of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rule. Along with the 2008 legislative election, Ma's landslide victory brought the Kuomintang back to power in the Republic of China.
Taiwanese nationalism is a nationalist movement which asserts that the Taiwanese people are a distinct nation. Due to the complex political status of Taiwan, it is strongly linked to the Taiwan independence movement in seeking an identity separate from China. This involves the education of history, geography, and culture from a Taiwan-centric perspective, promoting native languages of Taiwan such as Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka, and indigenous languages, as well as reforms in other aspects.
The mass media in Taiwan is considered to be one of the freest and most competitive in Asia. Cable TV usage is high and there is also a wide selection of newspapers available covering most political viewpoints.
The Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC) is a broadcasting company in the Republic of China. It was founded as the Central Broadcasting System in Nanjing in 1928.
The Government of the Republic of China is the national government of the Republic of China (ROC) whose de facto territory currently consists of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other island groups in the "free area". Governed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) since 2016, the president is the head of state. The government consists of the presidency and five branches (Yuan): the Executive Yuan, Legislative Yuan, Judicial Yuan, Examination Yuan, and Control Yuan.
Knowing Taiwan, also translated Getting to Know Taiwan, Know Taiwan or Understanding Taiwan, is a textbook for junior high-school aged children that has been in widespread use in Taiwan since 1997. The book is divided into sections that cover social studies, history and geography.
The Kuomintang (KMT) is a Chinese political party that ruled mainland China from 1927 to 1949 prior to its relocation to Taiwan as a result of the Chinese Civil War. The name of the party translates as "China's National People's Party" and was historically referred to as the Chinese Nationalists. The Party was initially founded on 23 August 1912, by Sun Yat-sen but dissolved in November 1913. It reformed on October 10, 1919, again led by Sun Yat-sen, and became the ruling party in China. After Sun's death, the party was dominated from 1927 to 1975 by Chiang Kai-shek. After the KMT lost the civil war with the Chinese Communist Party in 1949, the party retreated to Taiwan and remains a major political party of the Republic of China based in Taiwan.
Martial law in Taiwan refers to the periods in the history of Taiwan after World War II, during control by the Republic of China Armed Forces of the Kuomintang-led regime. The term is specifically used to refer to the over 38-year-long consecutive martial law period between 20 May 1949 and 14 July 1987, which was qualified as "the longest imposition of martial law by a regime anywhere in the world" at that time.
Dang Guo was the one-party system adopted by the Republic of China under the Kuomintang, lasting from 1924 to 1987. It was adopted after Sun Yat-sen acknowledged the efficacy of the nascent Soviet Union's political system, including its system of dictatorship. Chiang Kai-shek later used the Kuomintang to control and operate the National Government of the Republic of China (ROC) and the National Revolutionary Army. All major national policies of the government bureaucracy were formulated by the Kuomintang, giving the party supreme power over the whole nation. Following the beliefs of Sun Yat-sen, political power should have been returned to the people after the National Revolutionary Army militarily ended the Warlord Era. However, martial law in the ROC continued from 1949 until 1987, during which other political parties were banned. Martial law was lifted in 1987 by President Chiang Ching-kuo, a move that legalized other political parties such as the Democratic Progressive Party and ended the Dang Guo.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of State .
