Keywords
‘China factor’ in Taiwan’s media system
commercialization and outsourcing of censorship and propaganda
How to Cite
Abstract
The study aims to examine the security of Taiwan’s media system. Its main hypothesis is that the People’s Republic of China is pursuing a deliberate strategy of influencing Taiwan’s media at various levels by a range of means. Some authors refer to this approach as the commercialization and outsourcing of censorship and propaganda. The approach has had the effect of routinizing self-censorship. Research questions are also asked about the methods and strategies adopted by China to influence Taiwan’s media, including the commercialization and outsourcing of propaganda. The idea is to ‘hire’ various state institutions and agencies or their subordinate organizations, commonly from the private sector and from third countries, to deliberately disseminate and endorse views and ideas aligned with China’s interests. The strategy can be described as an invasion of sorts that is not of a coercive and/or external nature but rather is performed from the inside, aimed directly at the hearts and minds of the country’s citizens. The paradox is that democratic media systems that protect freedom of speech are more vulnerable to this strategy. An attempt is made to demonstrate that the ‘China factor’ is increasingly present in Taiwan’s media landscape. Its effectiveness may have grave consequences not only for the me- dia system itself but also for the political system of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in general. In addition, the article seeks to identify the most appropriate and effective strategies and means for countering and combatting such threats. In drafting this article, a range of research methods were employed, including that of inductive and deductive inference, the historical method (used to outline the historical background behind significant social and political transformations in Taiwan), the institutional and legal analysis method (used to explore the influence of institutions on specific social phenomena), the legal text exegesis method as well as the statistical method (to describe Taiwan’s media system).
References
Adamowski J. (2008), System medialny Stanów Zjednczonych in: Wybrane zagraniczne systemy medialne, (ed.) J. Adamowski, Warszawa.
Bączek P. (2005), Zagrożenia informacyjne a bezpieczeństwo Państwa Polskiego, Toruń.
Chai Winberg (2000), The transformation of the mass media in Taiwan since 1950: Introduction, “Asian Affairs, an American Review”, No. 27, 3.
CHANG Chin-Hwa (2011), Analysis of the News Placement and Coverage of Three Chinese Buying Groups by Taiwan’s Four Main Newspapers from the Perspective of van Dijk’s Discourse and Manipulation Theory, “Chinese Journal of Communication Research”, No. 20.
CHANG Chin-Hwa (2015), How Different Newspapers Cover Xingjian Conflicts from Human Right Perspective? A Frame Analysis of 10 Newspapers from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Britain and Unites States, “Mass Communication Research”, No. 125.
CHANG Mau-Kuei (2011), Advocating of the Perspective of ‘China Impact Studies’, “Taiwanese Sociological Association Communication”, No. 72.
CHEN Ping-Hung (2006), Market Entry Modes and Determinants of Taiwanese Media Firms into Mainland China, “Mass Communication Research”, No. 89.
Chien-Jung Hsu (2018), China’s Influence on Taiwan’s Media, “Asian Survey”, Vol. 54.
Cook S. (2013), The Long Shadow of Chinese Censorship: How the Communist Party’s Media Restrictions Affect News Outlets Around the World, The Center for International Media Assistance, National Endowment for Democracy, Washington, DC.
Fu-Lan Lee (2014), An Introduction to the History of Taiwan, “Gdańskie Studia Azji Wschodniej”, nr 5.
Gawlikowski K. (2004), Taiwan: Spory o status wyspy i procesy transformacji, in: Azja Wschodnia na przełomie XX i XIX wieku. Studia i szkice. Przemiany polityczne i społeczne. Stosunki międzynarodowe i gospodarcze, (eds.) K. Gawlikowski, M. Ławacz, Warszawa.
Hallin D. C., Mancini P. ( 2007), Systemy medialne. Trzy modele mediów i polityki w ujęciu porównawczym, Kraków.
HSU Chien-Jung (2014), China’s Influence on Taiwan’s Media, “Asian Survey”, No. 54(3).
Huang Jaw-Nian (2017), The China Factor in Taiwan’s Media, Outsourcing Chinese Censorship Abroad, “China Perspectives”, No. 3.
HUNG Yao-nan, YANG Hsiu-Jing, CHEN Chun-Wei (2014), How Did China Factor Influence Taiwanese Media?, Graduate Institute of National Development, National Taiwan University, Taipei.
Istenič S. (2012), The Role of Media in Democratic Consolidation of Taiwan and Slovenia, “Asian and African Studies” XVI, No. 2.
Jaw-Nian Huang (2017), The China Factor in Taiwan’s Media: Outsourcing Chinese Censorship Abroad, “China Perspectives; Wanchai”, Issue 3.
Jia-wei Liu (2016), Political Unification and Independence in the Media: The Case of Taiwan, “Athens Journal of Mass Media and Communications”, Vol. 2, Issue 2.
KAWAKAMI Momoko (2015), Political Permeation under the Market Mechanism: The Mechanisms of China’s Influence in the Taiwanese Media Industry, “Taiwanese Sociological Association Communication”, No. 83.
Kuldip Roy Rampal (2011), The Media’s ‘Public Sphere’ for Civil Society in Taiwan’s Democratic Consolidation, “Taiwan Journal of Democracy”, Vol. 7, No. 2.
Kurlantzick J., Link P. (2009), China: Resilient, Sophisticated Authoritarianism, in: Undermining Democracy: 21st Century Authoritarians, (ed.) C. Walker, Freedom House, Washington, DC.
Kurlantzick J. (2013), Democracy in Retreat: The Revolt of the Middle Class and the Worldwide Decline of Representative Government, Yale University Press.
Lihyun Lin (2017), Digital News Report, Taiwan, http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2017/taiwan-2017/#fn-6165-1.
Lihyun Lin (2018), Digital News Report, Taiwan, http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2018/taiwan-2018/.
Lumley F. A. (1976), The Republic of China under Chiang Kai-shek, London.
Link P. (2002), The Anaconda in the Chandelier: Chinese Censorship Today, “The New York Review of Books”, April, No. 11.
Ngok M. A. (2007), State-Press Relationship in Post-1997 Hong Kong: Constant Negotiation Amidst Self-Restraint, “The China Quarterly”, No. 192.
Madej M. (2009), Rewolucja informatyczna – istota, przejawy oraz wpływ na postrzeganie bezpieczeństwa państw i systemu międzynarodowego, in: Bezpieczeństwo teleinformatyczne państwa, (eds.) M. Madej, M. Terlikowski, Warszawa.
Metzler J. J. (2017), Taiwan’s Transformation, 1895 to the Present, New York.
Nathan A. J. (2015), China’s Challenge, “Journal of Democracy”, No. 26(1).
Pillsbury M. (2015), The Hundred-Year Marathon: China’s Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower, New York.
Ping-Hung Chen (2002), Who Owns Cable Television? Media Ownership Concentration in Taiwan, “The Journal of Media Economics”, No. 15(1).
Ping-Hung Chen (1999), Market concentration in Taiwan’s cable industry, “Media Asia”, No. 26 (4).
Ping-Hung Chen (2002), The role of the state in shaping Taiwan’s cable television industry, “Media Asia”, No. 29 (1).
Rawnsley Gary D. (2007), The Media and Democracy in China and Taiwan, “Taiwan Journal of Democracy”, Vol. 3, No. 1.
Rawnsley M. Y. T. (2003), Communications of identity in Taiwan: from the February 28th incident to the Formosa Television Corporation, in: Political Communications in Greater China: The Construction and Reflection of Identity, eds. G. D. Rawnsley, M. Y. T. Rawnsley, London–New York.
Sartori G. (1970), Concept Misinformation in Comparative Politics, “The American Political Science Review”, No. 64(4).
Sciutto J. E. (1996), China’s Muffling of the Hong Kong Media, “Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science”, No. 547.
Shiau Chyuan-jenq (2004), On the ‘Peaceful Rise’ of China, “Political Science Review”, No. 22.
Shu-Chu Sarrina Li (2004), Market Competition and the Media Performance of Taiwan’s Cable Television Industry, “Journal of Media Economics”, No. 17(4).
Shu-Chu Sarrina Li, Chin-Chih Chiang (2001), Market Competition and Programming Diversity: A Study on the TV Market in Taiwan, “The Journal of Media Economics”, No. 14(2).
Skrzypczak J. (2015), What are new media, in: Professionalism in Journalism in the Era of New Media, (eds.) J. Sobczak, J. Skrzypczak, Berlin.
Sławiński R. (2001), Historia Tajwanu, Warszawa.
Sonczyk W. (2009), System medialny: zakres – struktura – definicja, “Studia Medioznawcze”, nr 3 (38).
Suchorzewska A. (2010), Ochrona prawna systemów informatycznych wobec zagrożenia cyberterroryzmem, Warszawa.
Tao Seng-ping, Lin I-chin (2007), Zhonggong dui wo yulunzhan zhi lilun quxiang yu yunyong zhi yanjiu (PRC’s warfare of propaganda and public opinion against the ROC: A theoretical perspective and applied analysis), “Fuxinggang Xuebao (Fu Hasing Kang) Academic Journal”, No. 89.
Tay S. (2000), Democracy and the media in ESEAN and Asia, “Media Asia” 27, No. 4.
Terlikowski M. (2009), Bezpieczeństwo teleinformatyczne państwa a podmioty pozapaństwowe. Haking, haktywizm i cyberterroryzm, in: Bezpieczeństwo teleinformatyczne państwa, (eds.) M. Madej, M. Terlikowski, Warszawa.
TUNG Chen-Yua (2011), The Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement: Controversy and Effects, “Journal of National Development Studies” 11(1).
Wei Ran, Leung Louis (1999), The growth of news media and political communication in China and Asia, “Media Asia”, No. 26 (2).
WU Jieh-min (2012), The Third View of China, Rive Gauche, Taipei, Taiwan.
WU Jieh-min (2015), The China Factor and Its Local Collaboration Mechanisms: An Analytical Framework, “Taiwanese Sociological Association Communication”, No. 83.
WU Jieh-min (2016), The China Factor in Taiwan: Impact and Response, in: Handbook of Modern Taiwan Politics and Society, (ed.) G. Schubert, New York.
License
Articles published in "Przegląd Strategiczny" are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. License (CC BY 4.0). They may be copied, redistributed and shared only if appropriate credit is given.