The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) stands in solidarity with its affiliate, the Association of Taiwan Journalists (ATJ), and members of Taiwan’s independent media in demanding that the new owners of Taiwan’s largest media syndicate, China Times Group, make a public commitment to press freedom and media independence.
Taiwan’s media regulatory body, the National Communications Council (NCC), announced a conditional approval on May 27 of the takeover of the China Times Group by the Want Want Group, after a series of public hearings. Want Want Group is chaired by Taiwan businessman Tsai-Eng-ming, who owns a food products conglomerate largely based in China.
On June 12, the owners of the Want Want China Times Group sent legal notifications to several journalists and office-holders in media rights organisations threatening to sue them for any critical reporting of the takeover. Recipients included Media Watch chairman Kuan Chung-Hsiang, ATJ President Chuang Feng-Chia and Wealth magazine editor Tien Hsi-Ju.
More than 30 media reform and human rights organisations and more than 400 news media workers in Taiwan have signed a petition, “News media is not the tool of bosses”, condemning the takeover. The petition also condemns advertisements published in the group’s flagship newspaper, China Times, accusing the NCC of abuse of power. The advertisements reportedly included photos of three NCC members in a “most wanted” format.
The NCC’s decision imposed five rulings for conditions of operation of the Want Want China Times Group. These include reappointing board members of two major television stations owned by Want Want China Times Group, China Television Co (CTV) and the Chinese Nationalist Party-operated CTI; assurance of independence for the board of directors of both TV stations; separate advertising, sales and programming departments; and the establishment of an “ethics commission” and regularly published “self-discipline” reports on their respective websites.
Signatories to the ATJ-led petition voiced concern that the group’s response to critical commentary and NCC regulation indicated a lack of commitment to news media professionalism and independence. “The dignity and professional autonomy of news media employees cannot be sacrificed and news workers cannot be treated as sales personnel or given orders on what news to report or what to write,” the petition said.
“The Want Want China Times Group’s attempts to intimidate journalists, public commentators and NCC personnel call into question its attitude and commitment to freedom of expression and the value of independent voices in Taiwan,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said. “The group needs to recognise that the role of an independent media in a democracy is to provide a diversity of information, news and analysis, and that media business employees must be able to provide this public good without fear of intimidation and legal action.”
The IFJ joins the ATJ and petition signatories in calling on the owners of the Want Want China Times Group not to override the press freedom standards set by both the NCC and the independent reporting community in Taiwan.
For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries worldwide