Going Beyond “Number One in Asia”

French national Cédric Alviani first arrived in Taiwan as a young man in early September of 2000. He was assigned to Taiwan by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs to work at the French Institute (now the French Office in Taipei). At that time Taiwan had just experienced its first transfer of power between political parties. After four years of cultural diplomacy activities, Alviani turned down a posting in India and decided to stay in Taiwan, where he founded a company to produce cultural events (which spawned the Taiwan European Film Festival) and served as director of the France Taiwan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFT). He has now lived in Taiwan for more than a quarter of a century and recently acquired Taiwanese citizenship, becoming a 100% “Taiwanese of French descent” deeply embedded in Taiwanese society.

Here follows a synopsis of our interview with him.

Why the RSF Asia-Pacific Bureau was set up in Taiwan

“About ten years ago, RSF [whose headquarters are in France] was looking to open a bureau in the region. At that time, they were weighing Taiwan against Hong Kong.” “I insisted” on the bureau being located in Taiwan, said Alviani. “To me it was a no-brainer,” he added, offering up a lively metaphor: “When you are in a battle, you do not put your headquarters in the middle of the battlefield, but in a place that is safe and allows you to operate freely.” Taiwan, with its freedom of speech and rule of law, provides precisely the kind of environment RSF needs to defend press freedom across Asia.

“History has proven us right. If our bureau had been located in Hong Kong during the demonstrations for freedom only a few years later, we would have been caught between a rock and a hard place and probably would have been shut down very soon.” However, this does not mean that Hong Kong is unimportant to RSF. “Since the first day we opened the bureau, we have catered to the needs of Hong Kong journalists and provided as much support as we could, including emergency assistance and safety training. All this support was much easier to implement from Taiwan.”

Anxieties behind brilliant rankings

Over the years, Taiwan has consistently ranked among the top three in Asia in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index. But behind these brilliant results, said Alviani bluntly: “Of all Taiwan’s democratic achievements, the media environment is actually the poorest. It is the weakest link.” He added: “What I see, when it comes to freedom of the press and the enforcement of the people’s right to reliable information, is that Taiwan has stopped in the middle.”

As a monitor and advocate of press freedom, Alviani pointed out: “The very low level of public trust in the media comes from the fact that the mainstream media are indeed not always trustworthy…. Reporters are under too much pressure, they must produce too many stories. They are not allowed enough time for checking facts and context. Plus, the advertising department and the boardroom often meddle with the headlines and the choice of topics to cover.” As a result, in the event of a disaster, the Taiwanese mainstream media are “likely to contribute to amplifying disinformation and carry fake news, even without knowing it.”

Taiwan has always been among the leading countries in the RSF’s World Press Freedom Index. (MOFA file photo)

Can’t only blame China

Over the past decade, Taiwanese have repeatedly pointed to China as the main threat when it comes to disinformation. Alviani suggested: “It is good to call out the Chinese regime and say they are a threat. But what are Taiwanese authorities doing to protect the country against disinformation? I would say: not much.” He added: “The major mainstream media cannot be fully trusted because they primarily work for the benefit of the corporations that own them, because they openly support a political party, and because they do not always put journalistic ethics first.” He also regretted that: “The regulatory authority in Taiwan, the National Communications Commission, was unfortunately never given the resources and independence needed to properly regulate the media sector.”

Alviani told us in a serious tone that press freedom is not “the law of the jungle.” It means that the media can freely report on things, but they must also respect media ethics and professional standards and serve the public interest. There is no reason why the media sector should not be properly regulated, as the banking sector or the food industry are, as long as the regulation effectively serves the citizen’s right to reliable information.” 

Meanwhile, public media has been one of the achievements of democratization in Taiwan, as their purpose is “ensuring the citizen’s right to know.” The establishment of the Public Television Service group (PTS) and of Taiwan​Plus TV have been important steps forward in raising Taiwan’s international profile. However, “A few years ago, we found that the budget of Taiwan’s Public Television Service was less than 10% of the South Korean equivalent. Legislators keep cutting the budget of public media, when they should be increasing it.”

Taiwan should strive to be a global model

Asked about the marking of the 30th anniversary of Taiwan’s first direct presidential election, Alviani turned the conversation, saying: “It is important that Taiwan not rest on its laurels and say, ‘We are good in Asia. We have a good ranking in Asia.’ That is not enough. It is now up to Taiwan to be an example for the rest of the world.”

As for the coming decade, Alviani hopes that Taiwan will give up its obsession with being “first in Asia” and set its sights higher. He stated: “If Taiwan keeps comparing itself with dictatorial countries or emerging democracies, it will always be number one. Now it is time for Taiwan to compare itself with the world’s most advanced democracies, and ask: What can we do to be better? What can we do to be an example to them?” During the Covid-19 pandemic, the slogan was “Taiwan can help.” It should now become “Taiwan leads the way.”

“I believe the celebration of 30 years of Taiwanese democracy should not be used as a way to say, ‘We are so good.’ It should be used as a way to say, ‘Now, we must go on to the next step.’ The next step is the international stage.” Today’s democracy, he said, should be the starting point to reach the highest inter­national standards.