On March 23, 1996, the small square in front of the Lee-Lien campaign headquarters on Pateh Road was jammed with people. Lee Teng-hui, just elected as president of the ROC delivered his victory address in Mandarin and Taiwanese. In the crowd, from time to time anxious voices could be heard: "What did he say?" "Did he mention China?" "What's 'minzhu wansui'?"

This first-ever popular selection of the national leader in China's 5000 year history, plus three sets of military exercises by mainland China, and the presence of two US aircraft carriers, all added up to making Taiwan the focus of global media attention this March.

More than 600 journalists, representing 271 media outlets in 29 countries, came to Taiwan. What did they focus on the most? What were their impressions? How did they differ in their interpretations of events? What will be the overall impact for Taiwan's future?

In Taiwan, March is early Spring. Sometimes it is cloudy and cold, sometimes clear and warm. Such words could also describe the feelings of the citizens this year.

On the one hand, people were excited about the presidential election. Candidates roamed the streets, and campaign advertising penetrated every household. Even those normally uninterested in politics could not help but get caught up in discussions about the election.

On the other hand, in the face of mainland China's military exercises and repeated "warnings" to Taiwan, people felt uneasy. The stock market dropped, and purchases of US dollars increased.

In this strange atmosphere, about the only people more concerned than the voters, and with busier schedules than the politicians, were reporters. International media of all stripes came to Taiwan to report on this "election under the gun." At one end was the Cable News Network. CNN sent six teams totaling 33 professionals, from its headquarters in Atlanta, as well as from its Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Bangkok bureaus. At the other extreme, the Hong Kong newspaper Orient Express sent a single correspondent to handle everything from writing to photography.

Whatever their size, all these organizations were focused on the same thing: Taiwan. Would the election proceed smoothly? How would the vote come out? Would China's repeated missile tests, exercises, and warnings lead to a shooting war? If that happened, what would the US do? How would Taiwan's government and citizens react?

An historic event

For some of the larger media organizations, Taiwan's election in itself would have merited international coverage. CNN Senior International Editor Larry Register called the election "an historic event." Besides being a "first" in Chinese history, the election could have a direct impact on other Chinese societies, and also provide food for thought to many other countries in the region which have never had popular elections for their leaders. Moreover, Taiwan is the world's 20th largest economic power, with enormous investments in mainland China and Southeast Asia, so its stability and prosperity is important. Finally, it has been able to democratize peacefully, exploding the myth that only violence can dissolve authoritarian systems.

The international media is highly sensitive to possible news. Indeed, as early as last December's Legislative Yuan elections, many Western journalists had become convinced that they should closely watch the March presidential elections. Take for example an article in Canada's Financial Post from last December 27 in which the Asia specialist Tom Grimmer made his predictions for "East Asian Hot Spots in 96." He anticipated that Beijing would turn up the heat on pro-independence sentiment in Taiwan around the time of the presidential elections, turning Taiwan into a global focal point. It thus seems that many in the international media are at a level comparable to local observers in terms of their attention to and analysis of developments in the Taiwan Strait.

On January 16 of this year, CNN approved a proposal by its Asian editor Mei Yan to send a full team to Taiwan to cover the presidential election. Indeed, many global news agencies, such as Agence France Presse and Reuters, arranged to send people as early as February. Suzanne Ganz, senior reporter for Japan's largest news agency, Kyodo, says, "By the new year I had already received instructions to come to Taiwan to report on the elections, and the rest of the assignments were also decided then."

New York Times draws attention to US role

Michael Chen of the Government Information Office was one of the key persons responsible for taking care of all the incoming foreign media. Based on prior experience (120 foreign reporters for the elections two years ago and 160 foreign reporters for the elections last year), Chen's office estimated that about 250 personnel would arrive from abroad to cover the presidential race.

On January 24, in a column written by senior writer Patrick E. Tyler, the New York Times reported that after meeting with officials in China, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Charles Freeman told Anthony Lake, National Security Adviser to President Clinton, that China was prepared to attack Taiwan if President Lee continued to pursue international recognition. The article quoted experts as saying China could "resort to force despite the enormous consequences for its economy and for stability in Asia."

Further, the article says, "Mr. Freeman quoted a Chinese official as asserting that China could act militarily against Taiwan without fear of intervention by the US because American leaders 'care more about Los Angeles than they do about Taiwan,' a statement that Mr. Freeman characterized as an indirect threat by China to use nuclear weapons against the US." The article cites Mr. Freeman as saying, "senior Chinese told me [that China] would sacrifice 'millions of people' and 'entire cities' to assure the unity of China."

The next day, in an editorial, the same paper urged China not to forget that a precondition to good relations between the US and China was that Taiwan's future should only be decided by peaceful means. The article also pointed out that Taiwan has an important strategic position, is America's seventh largest trading partner, and is a powerful force for democracy. It called on the US to seriously oppose Beijing's military threat to Taiwan.

The two New York Times articles got worldwide attention. Looking back at analyses of the presidential election from last December that appeared in various nations' media, originally most concentrated on the campaign and on the impact of cross-strait relations on the race. But after the New York Times articles, media began to focus more on the US attitude and the Washington-Beijing-Taipei relationship. As a result, the international media began to look even more closely at Taiwan.

Cross-strait relations to the forefront

Although the PRC Foreign Ministry denied the Tyler story, almost all observers interpreted China's behavior as unfriendly. The concentration and deployment of troops and the renaming of the Nanjing Military Region (opposite Taiwan) as the Nanjing War District suggested that preparations for war were being upgraded. The international media focused increasingly on President Lee's handling of cross-strait relations, and discussions of electoral issues--which previously included domestic issues--narrowed to the orientations of the candidates toward the independence issue.

At President Lee's February 23 press conference, not only was the affair broadcast live across the world by CNN, the GIO also sent full English and Chinese texts out over the Internet. From February 24 through early March, more than 100 reports appeared in important international media, with cross-strait relations getting the bulk of the attention. President Lee stated that, if elected, he would work toward the signing of a cross-strait peace agreement; The Los Angeles Times carried an article entitled "Taiwan extends an olive branch to China," while the Asian Wall Street Journal carried a piece on Lee's political ideals and accomplishments.

For the international media, election reporting zeroed in on Taiwan's democracy and China's opposition to democracy. The candidates, by contrast, became merely supporting players.

Missile crisis helps the campaign

Part of the credit for the international attention given to the elections has to go to China's missile tests. The PRC's Xinhua News Agency formally released news of the tests on March 4. Over the next few days, the US Congress rushed to condemn the Chinese action. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal carried front-page reports, and the Far Eastern Economic Review made the topic its cover story. They criticized China's actions and expressed concern over the potential impact on East Asian economies and on regional peace.

By March 10, major media from around the world, including US, British, French, and German TV, had congregated in Taiwan. They came to observe how Taiwan would handle its elections, whether the other side would continue to escalate the crisis, and--in particular--whether or not there would be a shooting war.

Naturally, the international media were most concerned with the possibility of war. Thus they all sought interviews with Ministry of Defense officials as well as chances to observe military preparations. The military rejected all such requests for reasons of security. On March 10 the MoD put out a press release banning all visits to troops to avoid distracting them from their preparations. Given this situation, newly arrived foreign media had to make do with what they could.

One reporter for ABC News went to Keelung (near the Chinese missile tests) as a last resort. He says that he was hoping that a missile would go slightly awry and knock a roof tile onto his head, so he could get an exclusive story.

Taiwan's people get an A+

As the election campaign proceeded, Beijing tested missiles off of Keelung and Kaohsiung harbors to demonstrate the possibility of blockading Taiwan. It also expanded the scale of its exercises off the southeast coast of China. The number of international media personnel registering for assistance from the GIO rose dramatically as new media poured in every day.

Many large news organizations which had originally planned only to dispatch people from their Beijing or Hong Kong bureaus ended up sending staff from the home office to provide support. The BBC's Ben Brown was ordered on short notice to go from London to anchor TV reports from Taipei. He began working virtually the minute he got off the plane. He filed reports on campaign activities, the situation in Kinmen, and the strength of pro-independence forces, as well as a profile of President Lee. His stories reflect the things the international media were generally interested in.

Brown, a veteran journalist, says that the thing that most impressed him about this election was the enthusiasm of the people--about the candidates and the process--and their friendliness to the media. Many other reporters shared his sentiments. A Thai reporter, Prayat Wesnarat, said that she was deeply impressed by how peaceful and clean the election process was, and by the sophistication of the voters and the extent of democracy in Taiwan. She also notes that, after many conversations with people in the street, she found that although many did not especially like Lee Teng-hui, most would still vote for him since they could see no preferable candidate.

Suzanne Ganz says that she interviewed many people on the street, and found not even one person unwilling to express their opinion. Compared to when she was studying Chinese in Taipei ten years ago, Taiwan has become democratic, diverse, and self-confident. She took special note of the large number of women reporters in Taiwan. She also regards Taiwan's politicians as having a high level of democratic cultivation, since they calmly respond to even the sharpest questions. In Japan, she says, officials often scold reporters, who end up not daring to raise some questions at all. In contrast, at a March 21 press conference, vice-presidential candidate Lien Chan answered all questions succinctly and to the point, and in English as well. She said it was one of the most stimulating press conferences she had ever attended.

Chi Yi, a reporter for China Television (CTS), won an award for outstanding research by a journalist for her "Study of Coverage of Cross-Strait Relations in TV Media in the US and Japan." In exchanging ideas with foreign reporters this time around, she learned that this election could very well change Taiwan's status in the international media, and also that there are many practical changes needed to realize the government's goal of making Taiwan an "Asia-Pacific Media Center" (e.g. in legislation, in road signs). She states that virtually all foreign reporters had positive things to say about the people of Taiwan, especially that their democratic maturity and their calm in the face of the Chinese threat helped to keep the crisis minimized. According to the foreign reporters, Taiwan's people deserve an A+.

Time and CNN

The various media that came to Taiwan made their best efforts, but many believe that the best reports came from the established media, especially those with reporters long stationed in Taiwan.

Don Shapiro, a special correspondent in Taipei for Time, says that the biggest advantages of old Taipei hands and senior Asia reporters are that they understand local opinion well, and have better contacts to get interviews with key people.

A sound organization is also vital. Time sent five people to Taiwan, all of them senior reporters familiar with Asia. They divided up the assignments and sent their raw reports back to New York. These were then redrafted by writers, and sent to senior editors, the Asia research department, and the original reporter to be checked and corrected. Finally they would go to the editor-in-chief. All this work had to be completed within two days, which, needless to say, meant intense pressure.

For careful media, all stories have to go through the editors at headquarters, and CNN and Japan's NHK naturally follow this procedure. Yet there is a sharp contrast. Japanese media have long been concerned about cross-strait relations, have deep understanding of the situation, and handled stories in a low-key fashion. US reports, on the other hand, tended to be more provocative and intense; US reports also used more varied sources and had a more international perspective.

Bonnie Peng, a professor of journalism at National Chengchih University, expressed great dissatisfaction with local reporting on the elections. She felt that the three main stations gave the bulk of their reporting time to the Lee-Lien ticket. The cable news stations, meanwhile, tended to pursue only provocative stories. While the CNN reporters were not perfect, they filed balanced reports with incisive angles. For example, after the spokesman for the PRC Foreign Ministry again said "Taiwan must not become independent," CNN Beijing bureau chief Andrea Koppel commented that he sounded "like a broken record." Nobody could avoid smiling at such a sharp insight.

According to Michael Chen, who worked closely with CNN, the network's boss was very satisfied with his people on this occasion, feeling that the reports were even broader and deeper than those by media from nearby Hong Kong. Chen expresses respect for the professionalism of the CNN people and for their organizational capabilities.

Take for example a typical day for Larry Register: Up at 4:00 am. Contact Atlanta headquarters, absorb the latest on Taiwan, and draft a plan for the new day. At 6:10, off to the office to map out the specifics of the day's assignments. At 8:00, meet with reporters to discuss the plan. By nine or ten the reporters are already on the road, continually checking in; Register sends reports back to Atlanta, all the while amending the plan according to local developments. At 4:00 pm, recording and cutting of raw footage begins; at about six the day's images are entered in. Preparations are finished by about 7:00, and everything is run through a trial. At eight, live broadcast of the Asia report begins. Anchor Patricia Chew broadcasts from a studio borrowed from Taiwan Television (TTV), and other reporters are hooked in from Taipei, Beijing, and Washington. At 8:30, the broadcast over, it's back to the make-shift office at the hotel to review the day's work. By the time final reports are sent off to headquarters it is 1:00 am

Register says that there is no shortcut to successful journalism. Success comes with commitment and hard work. He also says that it is important not to see yourself as big-time media, and assume that people will give you what you want. If you want good stories and interviews, you must try every channel and plead, beg, do whatever you have to, until you reach your goal.

Special privileges?

While international journalists all praised the help they received from the GIO in this period, domestic news media felt very deeply that the government practiced favoritism. It gave the international media whatever was asked, because it wanted to inform the world of the threat from China in order to win international sympathy. Thus the Mainland Affairs Council held a special press conference for foreign media, while Foreign Minister Frederick Chien and GIO Director-General Jason Hu made time for interviews. Even the most prickly of agencies, the Ministry of Defense, was persuaded by the GIO to stage a tank demonstration for the benefit of foreign reporters. Yet, while Taiwan journalists felt the situation to be unfair, they admitted that the government was "skilled" at dealing with the foreign media. But had everything been done to fulfill Taiwan's citizens' right to know?

In any case, because China's exercises lasted three weeks, many foreign reporters remained in Taiwan for a rather extended period. Besides reporting on the elections and the missile tests, they could not help but introduce something of local society and culture. In the four months from mid-November of last year through the end of the election, more than 4,000 reports about Taiwan appeared in the international media.

Shaw Yuming, director of the Institute of International Relations and former GIO director-general, says: "This is the highest point for the reputation of the ROC since the end of World War II. Some people have asked how much the GIO would have had to spend to get such publicity. The answer is that this exposure cannot be calculated in monetary terms, nor could it be purchased, because major news organizations would not go on government-sponsored reporting trips for fear of compromising their objectivity."

Shaw, who is well-versed on the situation in mainland China, adds: "Communist China tried to use military force to intimidate people and affect the election, but instead they drew international attention to Taiwan. This is because those in power do not have any understanding of American politics. It is an election year in the US, and both the Republican and Democratic parties wanted to show the voters they would support democracy in Taiwan. So the Republican-led Congress passed a resolution supporting Taiwan, and the Democratic administration sent over aircraft carriers."

Still, with the election past, what Taiwan seeks is internal development and peace in the Strait. As Shaw says, "We are all Chinese. We want a 'win-win' outcome for the two sides--prosperity, freedom, and democracy."

Everything depends on the wisdom of the leaders and the choices of the people. Whether the international media will again congregate in Taiwan is beyond our control. In fact, what most attracts media attention is conflict and violence. It is cause for celebration that the international media paid close attention to the crisis, and that the election--this great step in democratization--came off without a hitch. But we'd probably rather not know when the next wave of attention from the international media will come around.

Nearly 200 reporters from around the world, overflowing out of the Gover nment Information Office, wait to observe a military demonstration put o n especially for them.

It was cold and rainy the day of the military demonstration, and reporters scrambled to protect themselves and their gear from getting wet. Following the officer acting as their guide, and worried about whether they would be able to g et good footage in this weather, the reporters couldn't help but sigh over their demanding jobs. （Dan Groshong／Photoreporters）

Chinese missiles sharpened debate in Taiwan over the independence issue, sparking greater fear of China and heightened Taiwanese consciousness. Protesters with English language placards provided good material for foreign cameras.

Many reporters headed to the front lines in hopes of getting some pictures of the military situation. Seeing these two guards was like finding treasure. Free-lance photojournalist Dan Groshong says that when he took this photo, there were at least five of six other cameras also pointed at these two soldiers. But when the lenses clicked, the guards pointed their M-16s his way, and he thought it best to make a fast exit.

This photo reveals how the media zeroes in on a news focal point. This w as taken at the site of the March 21 reception for reporters by the Lee-Lien campaign. Media began crowding in to the scheduled 5︰00 pm event at 3︰30. As might have been expected, some photographers got into a shoving match trying to get the best spots.

The Cable News Network, which features on-the-spot reports of breaking news, dispatched six teams to Taiwan, and even moved their Asian news report （normally broadcast from Hong Kong） to Taipei for a week, borrowing TTV's best studio for live feeds. The photo shows technicians in the control room finishing up their tasks. Senior international Editor Larry Register is linked to Atlanta, preparing to broadcast at the prime time of 8︰00 pm in Taipei.

This recent crisis marked the first time since the ROC government moved to Taipei that the country has gained such concentrated media attention. Will this help Taipei get back into the international community and enter international organizations? （Dan Groshong／Photoreporters ）