Two press freedom indexes issued by Reporters without Borders (RSF) and Freedom House, have reported improvements in Taiwan’s global press freedom rankings.
According to the 2017 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, issued by the Paris-based RSF, Taiwan’s press remains the freest in Asia. Taiwan has also moved up six places in the global rankings since 2016, from 45th to 39th. Taiwan ranked above South Korea (63rd), Japan (72nd), and Hong Kong (73rd).
The annual report from Freedom House also gave Taiwan the global rank of 39th (up from 45th in 2016). In Asia, Taiwan came second, outranked only by Palau. In the Asia-Pacific, Taiwan came sixth, behind Palau, the Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Micronesia, and Australia.
The Freedom House rank is based on two ratings, one for political rights and one for civil liberties, with 1 representing the highest level of freedom, and 7 the lowest. According to Freedom House, ‘Taiwan's civil liberties rating improved from 2 to 1 due to demonstrations of media independence and academic freedom in recent years, including in media coverage of the 2016 elections.’ Taiwan was also given a 1 for political rights.
