46 PERSPECTIVES ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS | VOL 43 | 2025 Times (pro-independence; 622,781), and United Daily News (pro-unification; 150,000) (Hsu, 2014). These circulation data reveal that pro-independence print media reached significantly more readers than pro-unification publications. Broadcasting and radio also grew in Taiwan. As of 2025, there are 19 24-hour news channels. Such outlets attest to Taiwan’s competitive broadcasting market and the numerous sources through which citizens can engage with news. Media consumption patterns in Taiwan have evolved since the early 2000s, with changes in both offline and online media usage. According to a study of 2011 Taiwanese citizens by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (Lin, 2024), the top five offline media outlets (with weekly usage) are TVBS News (39%), Eastern Broadcasting Network (31%), Sanlih E-Television (SET) News (27%), Formosa TV News (24%), and Taiwan Television News (22%). Online, the top five media outlets are Yahoo News (44%), ETtoday (36%), TVBS News (28%), EBC News (22%), and SET News (20%). Social media is now included in the category of online media due to its impact on the way news is disseminated to citizens globally. Online media in Taiwan includes social media platforms, such as YouTube, Line, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook Messenger. YouTube is the most popular social media platform for news in Taiwan, with 46% usage among those surveyed (Lin, 2024). This diverse ecosystem of media outlets and their widespread usage reflect and reinforce Taiwan’s commitment to democracy, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press. Democracy, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press When analyzing the relationship between media and governance systems, understanding the principles of democracy and their implications for media is beneficial. The United Nations (2021) definition of democracy includes “respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, freedom of association, freedom of expression and opinion, the holding of periodic free and fair elections by universal suffrage and by secret ballot as the expression of the will of the people, a pluralistic system of political parties and organizations, and free, independent and pluralistic media.” Specifically, a free, independent, and pluralistic media plays an important role by providing an outlet for diverse opinions that strengthen the democratization process. Media is then a mechanism to ensure public access to that diverse information, aiding in the development of personal political ideals and civic engagement processes like elections. Upholding a free, independent, and pluralistic media must then necessitate freedom of speech and of the press. Freedom of speech is manifested in Article 11 of Taiwan’s Constitution (originally adopted in 1947): “The people shall have freedom of speech, teaching, writing and publication” (Ministry of Justice, 2024). Since its inception, Article 11’s application, specifically its connection to matters involving media, has transitioned with Taiwan’s democratic evolution, which created justifications for what is protected under freedom of speech and press freedoms. Press autonomy is fundamental to a functioning media ecosystem and to journalists, enabling reporting and public information dissemination without governmental interference. Journalists play a pivotal role in transmitting fact-checked material that allows the public to be informed, make decisions, and reach personal conclusions on societal topics. For political matters, in particular, journalism’s ability to act as an unadulterated source—free from governmental control—is essential to democracy. Taiwan’s Constitution has enabled freedom of speech and of publication for its citizens, but China and the CCP attempt to dismantle those freedoms in pursuit of unification. Such actions are equivalent to attacks on Taiwan’s desired form of governance, democracy. In contrast, China operates under a one-party (CCP) authoritarian government. China’s Constitution does include language guaranteeing freedom of speech and of the press, but in practice the government suppresses those rights. Freedom of speech and of the press are outlined in Article 35 of China’s Constitution: “Citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration” (Congressional-Executive Commission on China, 2010). Despite these theoretical protections, the government uses several methods of censorship, like blocking online content and platforms that do not align with the CCP party’s political interests. Journalists are also legally accused of “espionage,” “subversion,” or “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” the three so-called pocket crimes, based on content that may not appear in support of the CCP party (Xu & Albert, 2017). According to the standards of democracy outlined by the UN, the essential element—a free, independent, and pluralistic media—is missing, even with freedom of speech and of the press labeled in the constitution. The stark contrast in how and whether freedom of speech and of the press are upheld reveals
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