Sad for Taiwan media!
Students welcome the new year with media protest
DIRE WARNING:Chinese democracy
activist Wang Dan said that media outlets in Taiwan might suffer a
similar fate to those in Hong Kong after 1997
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
While thousands celebrated New Year’s Eve by going to rock concerts
or watching the sunrise on the east coast, more than 200 people — mostly
students — chose to attend a rally in Liberty Square in Taipei last
night vowing to continue their anti-media monopoly campaign this year.
Aside
from the protesters, Taiwan Solidarity Union Chairman Huang Kun-huei
(黃昆輝), Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘),
Taiwan independence advocate and historian Su Beng (史明), and National
Taiwan University professors Flora Chang (張錦華) and Lin Huo-wang (林火旺)
were also present.
A political science graduate student surnamed Chou (周) said she found it “boring and low-class” to celebrate New Year’s Eve.
“Freedom
of speech is important for everybody and is a basic element of
democracy,” she said. “We may not have so much freedom of speech after
2013 if nobody pays attention to it. That would be tragic.”
Chou and a friend planned to stay at the rally until early this morning.
The
Anti-Media Monster Youth Alliance, which organized the event, said the
rally would last until about 3am today. The event was to be followed by a
sit-in at 4am near the Jingfu Gate (景福門), which directly faces the
Presidential Office.
The group will also issue an immediate
response to President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) New Year address to the
nation after the flag-raising ceremony.
The group said it has been
stressing that Want Want China Times Group’s (旺旺中時集團) purchase of media
outlets will have a huge impact on the nation’s democracy and freedom
of speech.
The alliance said the takeover must be kept under tight scrutiny to safeguard civil liberties.
Although
the Fair Trade Commission has said it will arbitrate the case from the
perspective of market competition, the group wants to remind the
government that the mass media serves a social function and the case
involves issues of public interest and national security.
“However, the Ma government and the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT]
caucus only said they would respect reviews made by professionals and
said absolutely nothing about entrepreneurs having monopolized the
operations of media outlets or the China factor,” the alliance said.
The
group said it had no intention of going near the Presidential Office or
joining the crowd attending the flag-raising ceremony.
Rather, it said protesters would sit quietly near Jingfu Gate and listen attentively to what Ma said in his address.
Several
Taiwanese students studying overseas have made a video clip in support
of the cause, which was shown at the rally last night.
Meanwhile,
Chinese democracy activist Wang Dan (王丹) said on his Facebook page that
what happened in Hong Kong after 1997, when media outlets were purchased
by pro-China corporations, is gradually occurring in Taiwan.
“Dear
students, people fight for their freedom using drastic means, but they
tend to be unaware when they lose it,” Wang said. “In Taiwan, there is a
need for some people to publicize the facts and warn the public about
the penetration of that monster [in every facet of Taiwanese society].
That responsibility falls on the shoulders of young students. This is
the history you have to live with and the responsibility you have to
bear.”
“I salute you for sitting here tonight, because you are
building the first line of defense to protect freedom,” Wang said.
“Taiwanese society should thank you for your passion, devotion, sense of
responsibility and ideals.”
