ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of Taiwan's media and its relationship with politics. It describes the development of the different media in Taiwan, such as the daily newspapers, journals and popular magazines, TV, and radio, as well as the internet and social media. The chapter deals with some more contemporary issues, such as the 'China factor' in Taiwan's media, the increasing media monopolization. When Chiang Kai-shek's son, Chiang Ching-Kuo, finally became President in 1978, the authoritarian structures of the regime were not immediately lifted. However, a transformation period started that would finally lead to the lifting of Martial Law in 1987 and, step by step, to the transformation of the island into a mature democracy. Although Martial Law was lifted under Chiang Ching-kuo, Taiwan's transformation into a democracy, including the lifting of reporting restrictions on the press, continued to take place under Lee Teng hui, an 'islander' who was President from January 1988 until he resigned in 2000.
