Taiwan was rated the top Asian nation for the fifth consecutive year in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index released April 26 by Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.
The nation moved up six spots to 45th in the latest report by the global press freedom watchdog, also known by its French name Reporters sans Frontieres. Among the 180 countries surveyed, Taiwan outperformed South Korea in 63rd, Japan in 72nd, Hong Kong in 73rd, Singapore in 151st and mainland China in 176th. Norway, Sweden and Finland topped the rankings, in that order.
Taiwan’s continued strong performance is a major factor behind RSF’s recent decision to open its first Asian bureau in Taipei City. “The choice of Taiwan was made not only with regards to its central geographic location and ease of operating logistics, but also considering its status of being the freest place in Asia in our annual Press Freedom Index ranking,” RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire said in announcing the move earlier this month.
Rating countries from zero to 100, with zero being the best result, the annual RSF report arranges countries into five categories ranging from “very bad” to “good.” With a score of 24.37, Taiwan was the only Asian nation among the 33 deemed to have a “fairly good” level of press freedom.
The 2017 survey spotlights deterioration in the global media environment. According to the watchdog, the number of countries in the top two categories of “good” and “fairly good” fell 2.3 percent, while the situation in two-thirds of countries has worsened over the past year.
Factors including anti-media discourse, growing political pressure on reporters and the rise of strongmen highlighted the erosion of media freedoms in democratic nations, the report said, citing cases of surveillance and violations of the confidentiality of sources.
Founded in 1985, RSF has compiled the World Press Freedom Index annually since 2002 by drawing on the opinions of partner organizations, its 150 correspondents in 130 countries, as well as journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists across the globe. The report evaluates a country’s media situation based on the criteria of abuses, environment and self-censorship, infrastructure, legislative framework, media independence, pluralism and transparency. (CPY-E)
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