Taiwan: When News is Sold to the Chinese Government · Global Voices
I-fan Lin

In recent years, more and more Taiwanese media workers have been worried that press freedom has been eroding since the lifting of martial law in 1987. In fact, Taiwan's ranking in Freedom House's Annual Press Freedom Report has been regressing since 2008.
In addition to the “embedded marketing” practice which cloaks advertising as news and makes journalistic articles less reliable, the mainland China government has extended influence on the Taiwan public sphere through news industry acquisitions.
Influence of mainland China
On May 7, 2012, a public hearing was held because the Want Want China Times group plans to acquire the second largest cable television system in Taiwan. Since Taiwanese businessman Tsai Eng-Meng purchased the media group in November 2008, China Times, one of the most influential newspapers in Taiwan, has made a subsequent change in editorial policy [zh] in the direction of softening criticism of the Ma administration, Beijing, or improvements in cross-strait ties.
Image from Reject China Times Facebook Campaign Page
More than 50 social science and journalism professors in Taiwan signed up to the ‘Reject China Times’ campaign [zh] in February 2012, in response to Tsai's interview with the Washington Post, in which he claimed that the June 4 Massacre (Tiananmen Square) did not happen.
The campaign statement pointed out that:
事實上，《中國時報》自蔡先生入主後所展現許多「積極排除不利中國言論」之「自我審查」事例，早已引起知識界的嚴重質疑。蔡先生以其在中國所取得之資本，搖身成為台灣媒體集團大亨後，在華郵所發表之為中國打壓民主、踐踏人權種種極權行徑擦脂抹粉的荒謬言論，更印證了我們對於中國企圖透過直接間接掌控我國媒體，操縱台灣公共輿論與市民認知的憂慮。
The further expansion of Want Want China Times from printed media to cable television has undoubtedly alerted many Taiwanese. In fact in the recent public hearing, Tsai admitted that he had received money from the mainland Chinese authorities to publish “news” that propagates a positive imagine of mainland China. However, his defence was that “embedded marketing” has been a common practice in Taiwan and there is no reason to stop China Times from doing it.
Journalism Professor Chang Chin-hwa pointed out that such political advertisement is a potential threat to national security (via a report from ‘Reject China Times‘ [zh] campaign website:
張錦華教授亦憂心地提醒，不僅是我國政府在「買新聞」，連「中華人民共和國的政府」也在台灣買新聞，並促使監察委員吳豐山提出調查報告加以指摘，在這個事件中，「中國時報就是主犯」！旺旺中時收了錢以後，它自己賣新聞不算，它竟然去跟其他的報紙「幫中國政府買新聞」！在監察院的糾正報告中，即指出這種行為不僅影響新聞專業，更已提昇至危及「國家安全」的層次。
Embedded marketing
For years, the issue of “embedded marketing” has been criticized by many media workers. Back in 2010, an experienced journalist Dennis Huang (黃哲斌), quit his job on the China Times and launched an online protest [zh] against embedded marketing:
從昨天起，我離開了工作十六年又五個月的《中國時報》。 我越來越難獨善其身、越來越難假裝沒看到，其他版面被「業配新聞」吞噬侵蝕的肥大事實，新聞變成論字計價的商品，價值低落的芭樂公關稿一篇篇送到編輯桌上，「這是業配，一個字都不能刪」。 然後，它們像是外星來的異形，盤據了正常新聞版面，記者努力採訪的稿件被擠壓、被丟棄。記者與主管被賦予業績壓力，不得不厚著面皮向採訪對象討預算、要業配。
我更相信，「人生總有非賣品」。 例如，讀者的信任；例如，專業判斷與良知；例如，自己的人格與報社的信譽；例如，寫或不寫的自由權利。 業配新聞破壞了這一切，奪走了這一切，它以每字一、兩百元的代價，將新聞變成廉售的開架商品。
在各種業配新聞中，公部門以納稅人的辛苦錢收買媒體，最是可議，我常說，「政府左手伸進我們的口袋，拿錢賄賂媒體，然後將右手伸進我們的腦袋」…政府不努力為政策辯護、不努力作民間溝通，現在連文宣廣告都懶得做，直接砸錢買新聞，這是一種最最混蛋加三級的媒體控制。