Media Freedom in Hong Kong and Taiwan threatened by China: CPJ
According to a new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, as Beijing actively tries to manipulate global opinions about its growing role in the world, Taiwan and Hong Kong’s media landscapes provide case studies in how China exports censorship.
While Taiwan and Hong Kong are both bastions of free press, Beijing has increasingly put them under strain as it attempts to influence editorial content and spread propaganda, says the report, “One Country, One Censor,” which was published Monday.
“The era of total censorship that Xi Jinping has ushered into China after becoming president in 2013 increasingly threatens to undermine the press freedoms enjoyed in both Hong Kong and Taiwan,” says Steven Butler, Asia Coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
In Taiwan, China has used commercial pressures to influence media, according to CPJ. A deluge of disinformation aims to sway public opinion ahead of presidential elections in January 2020 when incumbent Tsai Ing-wen faces off against pro-Beijing candidate Han Kuo-yu.
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