Taiwan was ranked the top Asian nation for the sixth consecutive year in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index released April 25 by France-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
In the survey of 180 countries and territories, Taiwan jumped three places to 42nd, one ahead of South Korea, with Japan in 67th; Hong Kong, 70th; Singapore, 151st; and mainland China, 176th. Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands topped the rankings, in that order.
On the scale of zero to 100, with zero the best possible result, Taiwan scored 23.36, improving by 1.01 from the previous edition. This placed it among the 26 percent of countries and territories worldwide considered to have “good” or “fairly good” media environments.
According to the report, press freedoms are under assault globally amid increasing animosity toward reporters. “Hostility towards the media, openly encouraged by political leaders, and the efforts of authoritarian regimes to export their vision of journalism pose a threat to democracies,” the organization said.
The main challenge to Taiwan’s press freedom comes from mainland China, with Beijing authorities exerting increasing economic and political pressure on local media, the report said. Taiwan is one of the democracies that continues to resist mainland China’s growing influence, it added.
President Tsai Ing-wen highlighted the same day the nation’s continued strong performance in the index in a tweet on her official Twitter account. “My administration is committed to ensuring that all journalists in Taiwan can work in a free and safe environment,” she wrote.
The country’s progress in advancing press freedoms and human rights has gained global recognition in recent years. Among other examples is the decision by RSF to open its first Asian bureau in Taipei City last year after considering and rejecting Hong Kong.
In January, Taiwan was listed as free for the 20th consecutive year in the annual Freedom in the World report by U.S.-based nongovernmental organization Freedom House.
Published annually since 2002, the RSF index assesses countries and territories based on environment and self-censorship, infrastructure, legislative framework, media independence, pluralism and transparency. (KWS-E)
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