March 5, 2013
No. 16
In response to the Association of Taiwan Journalists’ appeal for guarantees on freedom of the press in the Mainland, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) strongly affirms the concerns of private organizations on promoting press freedom in the Mainland. Freedom of the press is a universal value, thereby the MAC again urges the Mainland to respect, uphold, and guarantee freedom of the press. In Taiwan, freedom of the press is protected as a "freedom of publication" under the Constitution, with the news media acting as watchdog and defender of democracy. Taiwan has also long abolished the Publishing Law, newspaper bans, and news censorship, granting full freedom of speech to the news media.
In the "Golden Decade, Cross-Strait Peace" policy guideline, the government has laid out principles for facilitating reciprocal exchange of news information across the Strait and promoting media reforms and openness of information in the Mainland. The MAC reiterates that, reciprocal exchange and free flow of information are the utmost crucial elements of media exchanges across the Strait. Concerning the issue of media exchanges between the two sides, the government believes that priority of negotiation should be focused on lifting Mainland bans on Taiwan news websites, allowing circulation of Taiwan magazines in the Mainland, and ending Mainland interference with Taiwan radio broadcasts.