The ongoing assault
on press freedoms is real, and in recent cases it has had nothing to do with China
or investment in the media by China-friendly business tycoons
It occurred
early in the morning of Aug. 15. A small group of anti-forced evictions
activists pretending to be part of a Chinese tour group stormed past the front
gate of the Executive Yuan and threw paint and eggs at the building before
being overpowered by police.
Just as this was
happening, Edd Jhong, a Public Television System (PTS) reporter who had gotten
wind of the operation and who was documenting the event was manhandled by six
police officers. They surrounded him and dragged him away. A number of them were
plainclothes officers who refused to identify themselves. According to
accounts, Jhong was told he could not document the breaking news because he had
failed to register with them first. (A source in the judicial system informs me that the two protesters who were eventually arrested by police over the incident were taken to a police station and kept there in handcuffs throughout the afternoon, despite strong opposition by lawyers. Expect once again fines and/or sentences that are way out of proportion to the “crime” committed.)
PTS journalist Edd Jhong is dragged away by police |
I first
experienced this in late April during a round of demolitions at the Huaguang (華光)
community in Taipei, where authority figures at the site suddenly asked all
journalists present to provide additional credentials so they could be issued a
badge. This was unprecedented. Anyone who did not obtain a badge would be
immediately expelled. The night before, several journalists had complained
about police blocking them access to the site. I showed by pass and was given a
badge, but several others had to leave.
I witnessed this
again during a July 18 protest in front of the Presidential Office over the demolition
of four homes in Dapu (大埔), Miaoli County. The first instance was
when police cordoned off the area when they began taking protesters away on a
bus. The directive was clear and heard by all: “Pull the journalists out,”
which made it very difficult for us to document what was going on.
Then, amid the
chaos, a three-star police officer pushed me with his shield and screamed at me
that I should go away because this wasn’t my country, as if there were no
foreign press in Taiwan, with the same rights and responsibilities as local
ones. Yes, this was an isolated incident, and yes, it probably tells us more
about that particular officer’s xenophobia than the police force in general,
but in the current context, it is nonetheless worth mentioning.
Following
today’s incident, the Association of Taiwan Journalists (ATJ) issued as
statement condemning how police manhandled Mr. Jhong and prevented him from
carrying out his duties. The ATJ had already complained about similar incidents
at Huaguang.
A protester is held in front of the EY |
The ongoing assault
on press freedoms is real, and in recent cases it has nothing to do with China
or investment in the media by China-friendly business tycoons. Its principal
cause is the direct result of an administration that fears bad publicity. The
demolitions in Huaguang and Dapu, and the reaction to them, have sparked a
strong reaction among Taiwanese, partly because of the government’s apparent
indifference to people’s suffering, but also because the victims were ordinary
people who could be anyone’s mother of father. Scenes of houses being torn down
and of the owners wailing nearby are hard to ignore, just as are those of
protesters clashing with police over the same issues. The government’s response
is always that people should protest “calmly” and “rationally.” But the very
people whose lives have been turned upside down by state rapacity did just that
for years, and look what good that did them. People have had enough, and the
measures taken are becoming more extreme: eggs and paint bombs are lobbed at
public offices, and in the process create images that the authorities would
rather were not made public.
Just like
terrorism, which I studied and made my profession (that it, the countering of
it) for a number of years, direct action requires publicity if it is to be
effective. If something like the raid on the Executive Yuan this morning occurs
without anyone present to document it, it will have little, if any, impact on
policy decisions. Images, drama, are necessary, and journalists are in the best
position to provide them.
Hence the assault
on journalists, especially the growing number of reporters who are now siding
with the victims rather than the government.
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