ABSTRACT
Taiwan stands right at the forefront of the struggle to counter China’s authoritarian influence and to sustain the liberal way of life of a democracy. This chapter aims to explore the internal and external threats facing freedom of the press in Taiwan in the last decade, as well as the efforts that Taiwan has made to combat these threats and defend its press freedom. China’s influence was the main threat to Taiwan’s press freedom over the past ten years, due mainly to Beijing’s financial penetration and disinformation operations. China’s influence also interacted with Taiwan’s state and corporate powers, providing them more opportunities to affect media activities, public opinion and press freedom in Taiwan. Joint efforts by the Taiwanese government and civil society to counter China’s influence and nurture democratic defence mechanisms played a key role in reviving Taiwan’s press freedom.
