Pressure from employers and government agencies, as well as uncertainty about work, are the top challenges facing media workers in Taiwan, the Association of Taiwan Journalists said on Wednesday.
According to a survey conducted by the association and Taiwan Media Watch in February, 30.1 percent of journalists said that they were most concerned about pressure from their company’s executives, while 25.3 percent said they were worried most about job stability.
Another 23.8 percent said that pressure from government agencies was their biggest challenge, the association told a news conference in Taipei.
Meanwhile, 48 percent of 63 journalists surveyed said that either they or their colleagues had been attacked or had received threats while carrying out their duties over the past year, the association said.
Many journalists do not report their rights being infringed upon for fear of a backlash or threats to their personal safety, the association said.
Legislation to combat disinformation and protect personal information related to COVID-19 infections has resulted in some self-censorship by media workers to avoid penalties, it said.
The association said that the National Communications Commission should consider a media entity’s observance of workers’ rights when reviewing a company’s broadcasting license.
Government agencies and police should respect journalists’ rights, the association said, adding that it has documented several cases in which reporters faced obstruction from authorities when covering protests or other events.
Taiwan Media Workers Union chairman Cheng Yi-ping (鄭一平) said that reporters have to deal with all sorts of pressure from company executives and government agencies.
When a news channel suddenly stops reporting about the dubious actions of a politician or decides not to air certain news stories, it could be because company executives have given an order to that effect, he said.
Chen, who is also deputy director of the Next TV Workers’ Union, said that media companies should pay for mental health counseling and therapy for reporters who have to cover traumatic disasters, such as the Taroko Express No. 408 train crash, which killed 49 people injured more than 200.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
RSS