Global Taipei Dialogue 6, Press Freedom in Asia

Taiwan Nextgen Foundation thanks all who joined us for a successful and prescient Global Taipei Dialogue tonight on press freedom in Asia. A special thanks is extended to our speakers, Cédric Alviani, Nicola Smith, William Yang, and Brian Hioe, as well as our staff for working together to make the event a success.

Despite the recent events surrounding COVID, through diligent planning and strict adherence to government mandates, our staff and audience were able to have an important discussion on press freedom.

For those who were not able to attend in person, we hope you were able to watch the live stream, and we look forward to seeing you at the next GTD event! Check out the recordings of our events here: https://www.facebook.com/TaiwanNextGen/live/

Speakers discussed a range of topics, from prospects in the larger journalism industry, to updates on new media in Asia, and ways that Taiwan can increase accessibility for journalists and make Taiwan a center for journalism.

Cédric Alviani from Reporters Without Borders poignantly noted that if reporters had been allowed to report on SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan, there’s a high likelihood that the current pandemic would not have spread beyond its borders.

Nicola Smith, an Asia Correspondent at The Telegraph, emphasized the importance of stationing reporters in location to cover events fully, as well as the responsibility of maintaining the safety of reporters as well as their sources in dangerous political contexts.

Brian Hioe, Editor in Chief of New Bloom Magazine, explained the challenges of being in the new media space, and the responsibility journalists have to consider the implications of what they publish and how state actors will react to it.

William Yang, Asia Correspondent at Deutsche Welle and VP of Taiwan Foreign Correspondents’ Club pointed out the problem of old news being taken out of context and having legal percussions, as the recent quotation of Joshua Wong in a German newspaper, breaking the NSL and potentially endangering Wong.

The event was covered by Radio Taiwan International, who reported that all of the speakers had a shared concern for the focus of Taiwanese media on entertainment or social news. You can read the article here: https://www.rti.org.tw/news/view/id/2087486

The struggle for press freedom in Asia has significant hurdles to overcome. But as our speakers outlined tonight, there is also a significant reason to look toward the future of press freedom in Asia optimistically. We hope that this GTD has provided a platform to further the understanding of this issue with the general public.

To keep up to date with the latest from TNF, follow us at #NextGenTaiwan on Twitter.

Taiwan Nextgen Foundation extends its thanks for your continuing support.