Taiwan's Freedom House Press Ranking

As rated by Freedom House's Freedom of the Press report, Taiwan ranks well among Pacific Asian countries.In its region, Taiwan's score is comparable to countries like Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, while in the rest of the world, its score is akin to Canada, France, and Austria.

Status: Free
Legal Environment: 7
Political Environment: 9
Economic Environment: 8
Total Score: 24

The report states that: Taiwan's media environment is one of the freest in Asia, with a vigorous and diverse press that reports aggressively on government policies and alleged official wrongdoing. The constitution provides for freedoms of speech and of the press, and the government and independent courts generally respect these rights in practice.

Media coverage is often critical of the government, and news outlets were especially exacting on the official response to Typhoon Morakot in 2009, ultimately contributing to the replacement of the prime minister. Nevertheless, political polarization poses a challenge to press freedom, with most major news outlets seen as sympathetic to one of the two main parties.


Physical violence against journalists is rare, and both local and foreign reporters are generally able to cover the news freely. There were no reports during the year of assaults or official harassment of journalists.

Given that most Taiwanese can access about 100 cable television stations, the state’s influence on the media sector is minimal. Print media are completely independent, and following reforms in recent years, broadcast media are no longer subject to GIO licensing and programming reviews.


The report is generally very positive on Taiwan, though concerns are raised about growing economic ties to China, which may impact self-censorship. Already, some outlets are omitting references to Tibet, the Falun-Gong sect, and human rights in China, as well as "embedded marketing," which I made a mention of in a previous post. On a positive note, embedded marketing was banned earlier this year.