State,media and democracy in Taiwan

Abstract

This article analyses the relations between media and state in Taiwan. Since the 1980s, progress towards democratization in Taiwan has affected the media. The highly controlled media regime operating under the Kuomintang government has gradually loosened its hold. The party-state, however, still has many means at its disposal to ensure compliance, despite the formally free capitalist ownership structure of much of the media. These include press ownership, economic incentives, controls over editors and the practice of self-censorship. However, market pressures and the presence of an increasingly legitimate political opposition have forced the regime to liberalize its control. The state's capacity to manage news has grown, however, even though the legislature is more accessible, the executive branch of the government still remains unaccountable. Journalism remains boxed in by a combination of state power and `market censorship'.