Human rights report sparks media concern in Taiwan

Media professionals and academics yesterday said they were concerned about elements of Taiwan's first human rights report based on UN conventions, which was released earlier in the day.

The report reviewed a wide range of general human rights issues and specifically said that the merging of media and consortiums could have a negative impact on society, stirring discussions within the media industry and among academics.

President Ma Ying-jeou presented the report, which comes in the 101st year of the Republic of China. He said it marks a step forward in the improvement of human rights after the country passed two UN human rights conventions three years ago.

Ma described the report as a milestone in the nation's efforts to adhere to international standards.

The specific mention of the merging of media and consortiums generated much discussion, with some commentators asking if the government was implying a potential rejection of the Want Want Group's acquisition bid of the China Network Systems Co, Taiwan's second-largest cable operator.

Ma skirted questions on the issue but Vice President Vincent Siew said that the human rights report was not referring to any particular cases.

The report, compiled using information from the National Communications Commission (NCC) and the Government Information Office (GIO), was based on UN conventions, he reiterated.

According to Peng Kun-ye of the Ministry of Justice, the reference to media mergers was general. He said that freedom of speech should be maintained and that no single entity should monopolize the flow of information.

The government reviewed the media management section of the report twice - in June of 2011 and November 2011 - before including it in the report in February, Peng said.

Meanwhile, the NCC stated that it would respect and cooperate with the Presidential Office in handling the Want Want-CNS case.

Extreme academia

Experts in academia are at both extremes regarding the government's belief that the merging of media and consortiums might suppress freedom of speech and hinder the development of democracy and human rights.

Liu Chang-de, associate professor at National Chengchi University Department of Journalism, said that the various cable television channels releasing overwhelming amounts of information against one another over the Want Want-CNS case demonstrates how consortiums could use the media to their own advantage.

National Chiao Tung University Professor Wei Ti urged the government to set up clear regulations to monitor stations' "publicness" and use their profits to increase and improve the quality of their programming.

Human Rights Is Goal: Ma

The 200-plus-page Chinese-language report reviewed a wide range of rights issues in Taiwan, such as gender ratios, welfare budgets, and the death penalty.

Safeguarding human rights is also a crucial factor in bridging the cross-strait gap, the president said.

For example, the rights of Taiwanese businessmen based in China could be brought up in cross-strait negotiations on an investment protection agreement. That would also be a good opportunity for both sides to exchange opinions on human rights protection, said Ma.

Regarding the death penalty, the president pointed out that citizens expect the state to maintain the death penalty, but that this is not in line with international human rights trends.

Ma, however, said that abolishing the death penalty takes time and that his government is aiming to reduce its use, in accordance with international standards.

The government wrote the human rights report as a way to monitor itself because the mistakes of state officials could be detrimental on a national scale, Ma said.


(2012-04-20/asiaone)