Taipei, May 3 (CNA) Taiwan moved up eight positions to 27th in the latest World Press Freedom Index released Friday by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an international non-profit organization that focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information.
Taiwan's ranking placed it fourth in the Asia-Pacific region, behind New Zealand, Samoa and East Timor, which were ranked 19th, 20th and 22nd, respectively, but ahead of Australia (39th), South Korea (62nd), Japan (70th) and Thailand (87th).
"Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is a liberal democracy and the world's 21st largest economy that generally respects the principles of media freedom," the RSF said.
However, according to the non-profit organization, Taiwanese journalists "still suffer from a very polarized media environment dominated by sensationalism and the pursuit of profit."
Taiwan was among the 37 countries listed in the index as having a "satisfactory" media environment.
The Asia-Pacific region is the world's second most difficult region to practice journalism, the RSF said, indicating that Myanmar, China, North Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan are among the world's 10 most dangerous countries for media personnel.
In this year's press freedom index, China was ranked 172nd, slightly higher than Afghanistan, Syria and Eritrea which were placed at the bottom from 178th to 180th.
The RSF described China as the "world's largest prison for journalists," as its regime conducts a campaign of repression against journalism and the right to information worldwide.
Meanwhile, the index's top three spots went to Norway, Denmark and Sweden, in that order, with the three Nordic countries considered to have a "good" media environment.
The United States, on the other hand, was placed 55th, down from 45th last year.
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Picture from rsf.org
Update Date:
2024/05/04 Back