The media in democratic Taiwan

Abstract

Media reform has been an important indicator of democratization in Taiwan. It provides a benchmark that reveals an abundance of information about the levels of freedom, tolerance, social justice and pluralism within a political system. The purpose of this paper is to survey the current media landscape in Taiwan and to review the changes and the similarities of the media since the lifting of martial law in 1987, two terms of the DPP rule and the return of a KMT government in 2008. While the record reveals that Taiwan’s media are still at an early stage of democratization we cannot deny the progress made, and that Taiwan’s media look increasingly similar to those operating in systems at comparatively similar stages of democratic consolidation.