30-Second Overview
Taiwan's media landscape evolved from party-state monopoly under martial law to the post-lift "press ban removal" and "television liberalization," developing into today's diverse media ecosystem. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Taiwan 27th in its 2024 World Press Freedom Index, leading in Asia.1
Taiwan's current media environment includes major newspaper groups, six terrestrial television stations, over a hundred cable TV channels, and digital-native media outlets that have risen since the 2010s.
Facing challenges such as disinformation, political polarization, and declining advertising revenue, the pressure on Taiwan's media to transform has never been more acute.
Keywords: press ban removal, television liberalization, Reporters Without Borders, media literacy, digital transformation, disinformation
Why It Matters
Press freedom is the cornerstone of democratic governance, and the history of Taiwan's media development mirrors the trajectory of its democratization. The transformation from propaganda tools under authoritarian rule to a fourth estate holding government accountable has not only shaped Taiwan's political development but also offers lessons for other emerging democracies.
Amid global information warfare and disinformation threats, Taiwan's media environment faces a severe test. Striking a balance between freedom of expression and information integrity is a core issue that Taiwan's democratic deepening must confront. The rise of digital media has reshaped the traditional media ecosystem while simultaneously creating new modes of civic participation and new information risks.
Taiwan's media history is a compressed version of democratization—a span of 70 years that accomplished institutional transitions many countries required a century to complete.
The Martial Law Period: The Party-State Media System (1949–1987)
Media Control Mechanisms
Media control during martial law centered on the "press ban": starting in 1951, no new newspaper licenses were issued. The existing Central Daily News (KMT party organ), China Times, and United Daily News formed a "Big Three" newspaper landscape, while the Taiwan Garrison Command exercised pre-publication censorship over news content. Television was monopolized by the "Big Three" terrestrial stations—TTV (1962, provincial government), CTV (1969, KMT), and CTS (1971, military)—each dominated by its respective party, state, or military stakeholder, with the 9 PM news slot uniformly broadcasting government policy. On the radio side, official stations such as Cheng Sheng, BCC, and the military broadcaster dominated, with frequency allocation and content under strict control.
The Role of Media
Under the party-state media system, the media's function was explicitly defined as promoting the ideology of anti-communism and national recovery, and publicizing government policy achievements. But the entertainment function was equally significant—the popularity of Taiwanese opera (koa-á-hì) and glove puppetry (pò͘-tē-hì) on television, the craze for Chiung Yao romance dramas, and the unifying power of sports broadcasts all allowed Taiwanese popular culture to retain its vitality in the cracks of authoritarian control.
This regulatory system operated for nearly four decades before the lifting of martial law in 1987, shaping the media experience of entire generations of Taiwanese people.
Post-Liberalization Media Deregulation (1987–1996)
Press Ban Lifted (1988)
On January 1, 1988, the press ban was officially lifted, ushering in a Warring States era for the newspaper industry.2 Liberty Times (formerly Tzu Chiang Daily News), Min Chung Daily News, and Taiwan Daily News were either newly founded or expanded. Papers competed for readers with free giveaway campaigns, and the race to adopt color printing technology drove a visual revolution in page design. Media political alignments rapidly diversified during this period: Liberty Times leaned pro-independence, while China Times and United Daily News leaned pro-unification, reflecting the reality of Taiwan's post-liberalization political pluralism.
Television Liberalization and Cable TV Opening
The Cable Radio and Television Act passed in 1993, ending the Big Three terrestrial monopoly and legalizing underground radio stations, leading to an explosive growth in channel numbers. Formosa Television (FTV) launched in 1997 as Taiwan's first privately owned terrestrial TV station; the Public Television Service (PTS) formally began broadcasting in 1998, establishing an alternative media model not dependent on advertising revenue. The rise of cable stations such as EBC, TVBS, and SETTV fueled a boom in political talk shows, and 24-hour news broadcasting became the norm.
Within just a decade of the press ban's removal, Taiwan went from a media desert to an overgrown media jungle—a transformation pace rare among global democratization cases.
The Media Warring States Era (1996–2010)
Newspaper Industry Reshuffling
In 2003, Hong Kong's Next Media Group launched the Apple Daily in Taiwan, upending the newspaper industry with sensationalist covers and paparazzi culture, rapidly climbing to the top of circulation rankings. A four-newspaper landscape took shape: the highest-circulation Apple Daily, the pro-green camp Liberty Times with strong political influence, the pro-blue camp China Times, and the centrist-leaning-blue United Daily News. This structure held until 2021, when the Apple Daily ceased publication.
Television Media Competition
News channels proliferated rapidly, with SETTV, EBC, TVBS, CTi, Era News, and FTV each competing to attract viewers with political talk shows. Programs such as 2100 All People Speak Out (TVBS), News Hacker (SETTV), and Boss Come Talk (FTV) created Taiwan's distinctive "pundit culture," where politically outspoken commentators dominated screens every night, profoundly shaping Taiwan's political discourse ecosystem.
Media Maladies Emerge
Embedded marketing became a structural problem of this era: government budgets purchased media coverage, blurring the line between news and advertising and eroding media credibility. The phenomenon of starkly divided blue-green media camps engaging in selective reporting also accelerated societal polarization.
The Digital Media Era (2010–Present)
The Rise of Online Media
In the 2010s, online-only media outlets emerged one after another, filling the reporting gaps left by traditional media. ETtoday News Cloud (2011) rose rapidly with a click-rate-driven model; Storm Media (2014) pursued an in-depth reporting approach; The Reporter (2015) provided independent investigative journalism through a nonprofit model3; Up Media (2016) focused on finance and political expertise. Facebook and YouTube became primary channels for news dissemination, and the influence of internet celebrities and KOLs gradually surpassed that of traditional media figures, while traditional newspaper circulation continued to decline.
Disinformation and Media Literacy
During the 2018 election period, disinformation spread widely on LINE and Facebook, and accusations of Chinese information warfare surfaced. The Taiwan FactCheck Center was established in 20184, working alongside platforms such as MyGoPen and Cofacts to build a verification mechanism. The Ministry of Education simultaneously incorporated media literacy into the curriculum, attempting to build citizens' information discernment capabilities from the education side.
The *Apple Daily* Shutdown (2021)
In May 2021, Hong Kong's Next Media Group ceased operations under the pressure of the National Security Law. The Taiwan edition, hit by the double blow of declining advertising revenue and the pandemic, announced its closure in May of the same year. The four-newspaper landscape was thus reduced to three, the entertainment news market was redistributed, and paparazzi culture went into decline. The event also exposed the fragility of traditional newspapers in the digital age and the potential risks of concentrated media ownership to the news market.
Characteristics of the Current Media Environment
Press Freedom Performance
Reporters Without Borders ranked Taiwan 27th in its 2024 World Press Freedom Index; Freedom House rated Taiwan as "Free," a relatively outstanding performance in Asia. Direct government interference in news content has been greatly reduced compared to the martial law era, and the space for media to criticize government policy and pursue investigative reporting has clearly expanded. However, political pressure and advertising boycotts, concentrated media ownership, and occasional threats to journalists' personal safety remain concerns that cannot be overlooked.
Media Ownership Structure
Taiwan's mainstream media is predominantly operated by large conglomerates. The Want Want China Times Media Group (Tsai Eng-meng), the United Daily News Group (founded by the Wang Ti-wu family), and the Liberty Times (the Lin Rong-san family) represent distinct political blocs: Liberty Times, FTV, and SETTV lean green; China Times, United Daily News, and CTi lean blue. Politicians investing in media is not uncommon. On the public media side, the Public Television Foundation, CTS (which joined the public broadcasting group in 2007), Hakka TV, and Indigenous TV provide an alternative voice to commercial media.
Revenue Crisis in Media
Traditional media advertising revenue has declined by over 60%, the digital advertising market has been largely captured by Google and Facebook, and classified advertising has been replaced by online platforms. Faced with this structural predicament, media outlets have adopted strategies such as subscription models, event-based revenue generation, government contract subsidies, and content licensing partnerships, but overall operating pressure remains severe.
Legal Framework and Policy
Media-Related Legislation
Taiwan's media regulatory legal framework was built incrementally through the Radio and Television Act (1976), the Cable Radio and Television Act (1993), and the Satellite Broadcasting Act (1999), among others. The National Communications Commission (NCC), established in 20065, is responsible for spectrum allocation, licensing, and content management, designed as an independent agency to avoid political interference. In 2022, NCC introduced the Digital Intermediary Services Act draft, requiring platform operators to remove false information, but it was shelved the same year due to public controversy and has yet to be enacted.
Press Freedom Protections
Article 11 of the Republic of China Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, and Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 613 further established the constitutional status of press freedom. Individual media outlets have established self-regulatory committees, and the Satellite Broadcasting Commercial Association and the Press Council constitute self-regulatory mechanisms, though enforcement varies significantly across institutions.
Disinformation Response
Taiwan's current approach to disinformation relies primarily on fact-checking promotion, voluntary platform self-management, and citizen reporting mechanisms. After the Digital Intermediary Services Act draft was sheltered over freedom of expression concerns, the government has yet to identify a clear legislative alternative.
Future Challenges and Opportunities
Structural Challenges
Taiwan's traditional media faces a triple structural crisis. Advertising revenue has been largely captured by Google and Facebook, reader willingness to pay has not yet been established, and production costs continue to rise; senior journalists are leaving for corporate PR, and low salaries for young journalists are driving talent attrition; the technical capabilities and funding required for digital transformation are beyond the reach of most small and mid-sized media outlets.
Emerging Opportunities
On the other hand, new possibilities are emerging in Taiwan's media ecosystem. The Reporter's nonprofit model has earned international awards, proving that in-depth reporting has a market in Taiwan. The rise of the PeoPo citizen journalism platform and podcast news programs has opened channels for public discourse outside mainstream media. AI-assisted news writing and data journalism visualization are also being piloted at some outlets.
Policy Recommendations
Common policy directions proposed by industry and academia include tax incentives for the news industry, increased public media budgets, strengthened fact-checking mechanisms, and support for media digital transformation. However, how policy resources are allocated and whether they would affect media independence remain central points of ongoing debate.
Taiwan's media journey—from authoritarian control to free competition, and now confronting the challenges of the digital age—reflects the complexity of democratic deepening. How to safeguard press freedom while ensuring information quality and the sustainability of media operations is an important ongoing question for Taiwanese society.
References
- National Communications Commission, Taiwan Media Industry Development Report, 2025
- Reporters Without Borders, 2024 World Press Freedom Index, 2024
- ROC News Media Self-Regulatory Committee, Media Self-Regulation Report, 2024
- Taiwan FactCheck Center, Disinformation Situation Analysis Report, 2025
- National Chengchi University Department of Journalism, Taiwan Media Environment Survey, 2024
- Ministry of Culture, Media Industry Policy White Paper, 2023
- Reporters Without Borders (RSF), "2024 World Press Freedom Index—Taiwan," https://rsf.org/en/country/taiwan↩
- Ministry of Culture, "Press Ban Removal and Media Diversification," https://nccwp.moc.gov.tw/home/zh-tw/white_paper↩
- The Reporter, https://www.twreporter.org/↩
- Taiwan FactCheck Center, https://tfc-taiwan.org.tw/↩
- National Communications Commission (NCC), https://www.ncc.gov.tw/↩