Comparison of the History of Mass Media between Hong Kong and Taiwan - Literature review Example

Comparison of the History of Mass Media between Hong Kong and Taiwan Name Date Introduction Over the years mass media has been viewed as the linking bridge of communication and driving force for change. In East Asia in specific, mass media has been used as a platform to air the views of both sides of a nation, which is a government’s point of view and that of the general public. Mass media in Hong Kong and Taiwan has been used by political and government officials in these states to promote their ideas while the general public use it as a means to actively engage themselves in public matters. Mass media has therefore been identified as an influential element in the society which produces unpredictable feelings and change of attitude among citizens. It is considered as neutral party in airing public and political matters as well as re-shapes the beliefs of the masses. This paper provides the background information on the history of mass media in East Asia. The content in this paper mainly focuses on Hong Kong and Taiwan, while comparing the similarities and differences of the mass media history between the two nations. The paper will discuss the steps adopted in facilitating the growth and development of mass media in Hong Kong and Taiwan. History of Mass Media in Hong Kong and Taiwan The media in Hong Kong and Taiwan has evolved since the 1980s when most of the newspapers and television channels were able to broadcast due to the removal of several media restrictions. For instance in 1998, the number Taiwan newspapers rose to 360 from 31 in 1987. Nonetheless, the Taiwan government has worked hand in hand with media outlets to encourage the growth and development of media centers in the nation. In 1995 the government introduced policies that aimed at promoting the use of Chinese language in broadcasting through the use of Taiwan media outlets as production and distribution regional centers of Chinese movies and TV Series (Wei, 2000). According to Wei (2000) the Taiwan media outlets have adopted a significant legal policy that ensures each mass media system abides by the laws outlined in the legislation which is commonly referred to as the main source of law in the country. Since its independence the country has relied on laws and orders outlined in the constitution which touch on matters concerning the human rights, material copyright as well as defining obscene motion pictures and information. According to Chan & To (1999) since 1997 Hong Kong has undergone major transformation in terms of mass media changes. The changes in mass media in Hong Kong have mainly been influenced by the social and political handover that took place at least a decade ago. Unlike Taiwan, Hong Kong has in many years enjoyed mass media freedom with minimal regulations and censorship. The media in Hong Kong enjoys much of its freedom due to the partial power the government of Hong Kong holds over media houses and issues restricted self censorship techniques. However the mass media in Hong Kong as well as in Taiwan provides a link between the general public and the government (Lee, 2007). The development of mass media in these two nations in East Asia has been affected by political, social-economic and cultural events. In both nations, mass media has evolved in recent times whereby their transformations have been characterized by globalization and the localization of events in the nations. As a result mass media in Taiwan and Hong Kong have transformed from a controlled system to an open communication platform which is market oriented. The abuse of media freedom by the media houses in both countries have seen their governments invoke some laws and regulations to help in ensuring that mass media abides by its social responsibilities (Liberte, 1997). According to Wei (2000) In Taiwan before the year 1988, mass media had to follow two specific laws in publishing and recording. The “National Mobilization” and “Publication Laws” were imposed in Taiwan and every media house had to adhere by these laws. This is why the number of newspapers in this country had stuck at 31 for the longest time ever as most people had to face newspaper restrictions from government agencies. Some of the government bodies responsible for these restriction and regulations in Taiwan included; Government Information Office, the Taiwan Garrison Command and the Department of Cultural Affairs. Until 1988 news papers had to follow some of these restriction orders issued by these government agencies. As opposed to the situation of mass media in Taiwan, the government of Hong Kong treats mass media as a private entity in Hong Kong. As a result, the media in this nation are mainly guided by self censorship. The government does not have a specific regulatory body or restrictive rules to issue controlling measures on the media in Hong Kong. Therefore the mass media in Hong Kong continues to rely on the colonial rules and regulations issued by the British which is still opposed by its government. Nonetheless Hong Kong enjoys a majority fair of press freedom which has encouraged media liberation and internalization. It is however evident that most media outlets in both of these nation are controlled by political and cultural systems of Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as that of East Asia (Fung, 2007). The members of Taiwanese and Hong Kong mass media service produce content that speak volume to the local citizens. Therefore the kind of information passed through these media units have always dwelled on economic and social issues that cannot be separated from the lives of the local citizens in these nations. For instance, the establishment of the “local society” in Hong Kong was formed in the mid 1970s when the economy of this nation become to go up and the people of Hong Kong were gaining a form of identity from China. The colonial system by the British on the citizens of Hong Kong empowered the general public with an environment with which they could use mass media to express their views, ideas and thoughts (Chan and To, 1999). According to Wei (2000) the Republic of China set up The National Press Council in Taiwan in 1974 as a means to impose mass media control on the media outlets and journalists. Wei (2000) argued that the Chinese government argued that this was a step to promote self discipline among journalists and provide moral and ethic conduct codes for mass media. Unlike the mass media in Hong Kong, whereby the British left the people to run their own mass media with their rules, in Taiwan the Chinese government had practical control over the mass media in this region. As a result the council was put in place in order to carry out investigations on claims by the public or the government about reports or programs aired by any media house. Moreover the introduction of Kuomintag (KMT) in China in the year 1927, prompted the introduction of media policies and strict rules that later spread to Taiwan and which were focused on coercing the mass media fraternity into adhering Kuomintag (KMT) regulation (Lee, 1997). KMT has over the years been identified as one of the councils that do not give room for ideology in mass media. Conclusion This paper has provided a brief overview of the history of mass media in Taiwan and Hong Kong. In addition to this the paper has discussed some similarities and differences as noted in the growth and development of mass media in the two nations. As discussed it is evident that the two nations mainly focused on social and political factors affecting the general public. However one of the main factors that influenced and continue to influence mass media growth and development in East Asia is political powers and figures. The role of mass media in these parts of the world is mainly communication purposes. In countries such as Taiwan and Hong Kong where the cultural roots of the nations are deeply rooted in people’s daily lives, mass media has achieved its purpose in facilitating the delivering and exchanging information among the people. Nonetheless, mass media has been a coercing tool that persuades its audience to reconsider their ideas or thoughts about a given topic or activity. Media freedom and expression is something that journalists and media outlets in these nations continue to fight for despite their unique differences. Self-censorship is one of the main issues that the media is fighting for due to the increased political pressure and influence on mass media. However journalists in these two nations are forced to adhere by the rules and regulations issued to them and work with pure professionalism, values and norms. This is because mass media plays a significant role in the economic growth as it continues to grow into commercial media. It is clear that both the Taiwan and Hong Kong mass media personalities fight for press freedom in order to ensure that they can operate in a free manner without political interference which seems to be the main problem hindering mass media. References Chan, J. M & To, Y. M. (1999). Democratization, Reunification and Press Freedom in Hong Kong,” In Press and Politics in Hong Kong, C. Y. K. So and J. M. Chan (Eds.) (Hong Kong: Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, pp. 465-407. Fung, A. Y. H. (2007). Political Economy of Hong Kong Media: Producing a Hegemonic Voice, Asian Journal of Communication, 17(2): 159-171. Laliberte, W. (1997). Taiwan: Between Two Nationalisms, Working Paper No. 12, Institute of International Relations. Columbia: The University of British Columbia. Lee, F. L. F. (2007). Strategic Interaction, Cultural Co-orientation, and Press Freedom in Hong Kong, Journal of Communication, 17(2): 134-147. Wei, R. (2000). Mainland Chinese News in Taiwan’s Press: The interplay of Press Ideology, Organisational Strategies, and News Structure, in Chin-Chuan, Lee (ed.), Power, Money and Media: Communication Patterns and Bureaucratic Control in Cultural China, Evanston: Northwestern University Press. Read More