The Political Economy of Press Freedom
This book offers a political economy analysis of the development and degradation of freedom of the press in Taiwan since 1949, exploring how state-business elites and foreign hegemons interacted to shape the evolution of Taiwans media.
It examines why freedoms increased alongside democratization in the 1990s but deteriorated after the second peaceful turnover of power in 2008 and why significant improvements accompanied Taiwans close economic connections with the US during the Cold War, only to become eroded as the country developed deeper economic ties with China in the 21st century. Presenting both a domestic and international perspective, this study of the controversial case of Taiwan ultimately argues in favor of three factors. First, state power is not the only threat to press freedom, as corporate organizations and market forces may also play a role in curtailing it. Second, cross-national economic connections do not always improve human and civil rights but may cause damage when they involve more powerful authoritarian countries. Third, just as norms diffuse from liberal contexts to repressive states, repressive norms are also likely to diffuse from powerful authoritarian countries to more liberal but politically and economically weaker ones.
Providing a new viewpoint on Chinas media control overseas, The Political Economy of Press Freedom will be useful for students and scholars of Chinese Studies and Taiwan Studies as well as comparative politics, international relations, and Media Studies.
Jaw-Nian Huang is Assistant Professor of Development Studies at National Chengchi University in Taiwan. He is also an inaugural Hou Family Fellow at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University and a research team member for China Impact Studies at the Institute of Sociology at Academia Sinica in Taiwan.
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For the full list of titles in the series, visit: www.routledge.com/Politics-in-Asia/book-series/PIA
The Political Economy of Press Freedom
The Paradox of Taiwan versus China
Jaw-Nian Huang
First published 2020
by Routledge
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2020 Jaw-Nian Huang
The right of Jaw-Nian Huang to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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ISBN: 978-1-138-59948-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-48564-0 (ebk)
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For Lilian, who accompanied me along the book writing journey
Contents
This book records many research results that I achieved and accumulated from my doctoral study in Riverside, California, through my postdoctoral study in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to my first two-year teaching and research career in Taipei, Taiwan. Without the help of many kind and generous people, the book would not have been possible.
I would like to express my very great appreciation to my dissertation advisors, Dr. John W. Cioffi (committee chair), Dr. John Christian Laursen, Dr. Bronwyn Anne Leebaw, and Dr. Perry Link, who helped lay a solid knowledge foundation for my dissertation and thus this book with their expertise and insight. I am also grateful to Dr. David Der-wei Wang and Dr. Ya-wen Lei for their valuable and constructive suggestions for my book proposal during my postdoctoral study. I also thank Dr. Ming-sho Ho for his useful advice for my consideration and preparation for the book contract. Particularly, I wish to show my sincere gratitude to Dr. Rwei-ren Wu and Dr. Jieh-min Wu who commented on an early version of this research work, encouraged me to keep studying the implications of Chinese hegemony for Taiwan and the world, and guided me in adapting to the scholarly environment in Taiwan.
My special thanks are extended to every interviewee who shared his or her inside story that enhanced the credibility and readability of this research work. I especially recognize the valuable help provided by San-tai Hsieh, Sylvia Feng, Yun-Kung Ting, Rwei-ren Wu, Yung-Mau Chao, Eve Chiu, Zi-chun Feng, Dong-Shi Lu, and Wan-Ling Yen in introducing me to important interviewees.
The research for this book was financially supported by the Ministry of Education (Taiwan), the University of California Riverside (USA), the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange (Taiwan), the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University (USA), and the Ministry of Science and Technology (Taiwan). Physical support such as academic resources and research environment were also provided by the University of California Riverside (USA), the Institute of Taiwan History at Academia Sinica (Taiwan), Harvards Fairbank Center (USA), Tamkang University (Taiwan), and the Thematic Research Team for China Impact Studies of the Institute of Sociology at Academia Sinica (Taiwan). I gratefully acknowledge their support and generosity, without which the present study could not have been completed.
Also, I would like to acknowledge permissions received from China Perspectices (an internationally refereed journal published on behalf of the French Center for Research on Contemporary China) to reframe and revise my article titled The China Factor in Taiwans Media: Outsourcing Chinese Censorship Abroad in of this book.
Last but not least, I would like to acknowledge that this book is scheduled for publication around my son Ethans third birthday. I wish to express my warmest regards to my dear parents, parents in law, and family members for their support and encouragement in my daily life and academic career. Certainly, I would also like to show special thanks to my lovely wife, Lilian. It is wholeheartedly expressed that your company, patience, and encouragement proved to be a necessary motivation towards the accomplishment of my end goal.
