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INTRO: segment
number seven -- "Taiwan Media"
IN THE
LATE 1980s THE TAIWAN GOVERNMENT LIFTED MARTIAL LAW ALLOWING
PEOPLE MORE FREEDOM TO PUBLISH...BROADCAST AND EXPRESS THEIR
IDEAS. THIS MORE RELAXED POLITICAL CLIMATE HAS LED TO AN
EXPLOSION IN THE ISLAND'S MEDIA INDUSTRY.
IN PART
SEVEN OF OUR SERIES POSTCARDS FROM CHINA...ERIC OLANDER
REPORTS THAT PEOPLE ON TAIWAN NOW HAVE MORE CHOICES THAN EVER
BEFORE. (:19)
STORY:
SPEND JUST TEN
MINUTES IN TAIWAN AND YOU WILL LEARN QUICKLY THAT THINGS HERE
CHANGE VERY FAST. BUILDINGS ARE BUILT AND DESTROYED IN A
MATTER OF DAYS...MONEY STOCKS GOODS AND SERVICES ARE ALL BEING
TRADED AT LIGHTENING SPEED. BUT NOTHING ON TAIWAN IS MOVING
FASTER THAN INFORMATION.
SINCE THE
LIFTING OF MARTIAL LAW IN 1987 AND A LOOSENING OF RESTRICTIONS
ON THE MEDIA....MORE NEWSPAPERS THAN EVER BEFORE ARE BEING
PUBLISHED ....MORE T-V STATIONS CAN BE TUNED INTO AND THE
RADIO INDUSTRY IS SET TO EXPLODE.
IN THE PRINT
SECTOR...EVERYDAY MORE THAN 200 PAPERS HIT THE NEWSSTANDS
ISLAND WIDE...AND OVER 20 IN TAIPEI...COMPARE THIS FOR EXAMPLE
WITH ANY MAJOR AMERICAN CITY WHERE PEOPLE HAVE A CHOICE OF NO
MORE THAN FOUR OR FIVE DAILIES. THE VARIETY IS AMAZING GIVEN
THAT ONLY SIX YEARS AGO...WHILE UNDER MARTIAL LAW...ONLY ABOUT
THIRTY PAPERS WERE BEING PUBLISHED. BACK THEN THE GOVERNMENT
IMPOSED VERY RIGID CONTROLS MOST NOTABLY THE FACT THAT ONLY
TWELVE PAGES COULD BE PRINTED...WHILE THE CONTENT CONSISTED
MOSTLY OF GOVERNMENT POLICY ANNOUNCEMENTS...ANTI-MAINLAND
PROPAGANDA AND BLAND LEGISLATIVE REPORTS. (:59)
TODAY
ACCORDING TO THE GOVERNMENT INFORMATION OFFICE....THERE ARE
VIRTUALLY NO RESTRICTIONS. IN CONTRAST WITH THE
PAST....PAPERS ARE NOW ENTITLED TO PRINT AS MANY PAGES AS THEY
WANT AND ON WHATEVER SUBJECTS THEY CHOOSE. AND THEY
DO...WHICH HAS ITS ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES.
PAUL
WANG...CHAIRMAN OF THE JOURNALISM DEPARTMENT AT TAIPEI'S
CHINESE CULTURE UNIVERSITY SAYS THE ISLAND'S NEWSPAPERS LACK
CREDIBILITY. HE SAYS THEY OFTEN PRINT INFORMATION WITHOUT
CHECKING IT FIRST AND FREQUENTLY BLUR THE FINE LINE BETWEEN
NEWS AND COMMENTARY.
BUT ON THE
POSITIVE SIDE HE SAYS....THERE HAS BEEN INCREASED COVERAGE OF
ONCE VERY SENSITIVE ISSUES LIKE TAIWAN'S INDEPENDENCE FROM
CHINA...WOMEN'S ISSUES....AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS. (1:35)
PICK UP ANY OF
THE PAPERS AND OPEN TO THE ENTERTAINMENT SECTION WHERE THE T-V
LISTINGS ARE. IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN WATCHING A NEWS
PROGRAM....WELL YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF OPTIONS. TWENTY-FOUR
HOURS A DAY B-B-C WORLD SERVICE TELEVISION IS BEAMED DOWN VIA
SATELLITE....EVERYDAY ONE CAN WATCH NEWS FROM THE AMERICAN
NETWORKS A-B-C C-B-S. ..P-B-S AND C-N-N. THERE ARE ALSO
PROGRAMS FROM THE JAPANESE NETWORK N-H-K. AND ON A JAPANESE
SATELLITE CHANNEL YOU CAN WATCH A WIDE VARIETY OF SHOWS FROM
EUROPE....AMERICA AND OF COURSE JAPAN.
BUT IF YOU'RE
IN THE MOOD FOR SOMETHING A BIT LIGHTER...TURN THE CHANNEL TO
ANY NUMBER OF OTHER SATELLITE SERVICES THAT OFFER
ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMMING SUCH AS THE MUSIC VIDEO CHANNEL
M-T-V OR THE TOKYO-BASED WOW WOW NETWORK. (2:14)
IF THAT STILL
DOESN'T EXCITE YOU...SWITCH TO ONE OF THE GROWING NUMBER OF
CABLE CHANNELS AVAILABLE. THE TAIWAN GOVERNMENT ESTIMATES
THAT IN 1992 THERE WERE 350 ILLEGAL CABLE STATIONS SERVING
MORE THAN ONE-AND-A-HALF MILLION HOMES.
GIVEN THAT
MOST OF THE SATELLITE DISHES AND CABLE OPERATIONS AREN'T
LICENSED IT'S HARD TO TELL IF THE GOVERNMENT CAN CONTROL THIS
BOOMING INDUSTRY. BUT ONE THING IS CERTAIN...THAT MILLIONS OF
CHINESE AND TAIWANESE FAMILIES ACROSS THE ISLAND HAVE MORE
CHOICES THAN EVER BEFORE.
WITH A
POSTCARD FROM CHINA...I'M ERIC OLANDER IN TAIPEI. (2:45)
OUTRO:
IN OUR NEXT
POSTCARD...ERIC CROSSES THE BORDER TO SHENZHEN AND REPORTS ON
THE PROS AND CONS OF ECONOMIC PROSPERITY.
© BBC World Service 1993
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