Taiwan media guide

The media environment in Taiwan is among the freest in Asia and is extremely competitive.

The main terrestrial TV networks tend to be politically partisan. Multichannel satellite and cable TV are very popular.

There are more than 170 radio stations, many of them with specific music formats. Phone-in programmes are particularly popular. There are hundreds of newspapers, all privately-owned.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to exert influence on Taiwanese media, says US-based NGO Freedom House.

It adds that key media owners have significant business interests in China or rely on advertising by Chinese companies, "leaving them vulnerable to pressure and prone to self-censorship on topics considered sensitive by Beijing".

There were 22 million internet users by July 2022, comprising 96% of the population (Internetworldstats.com). Facebook and messaging platform Line are leading social media destinations.

• Media guides by BBC Monitoring

Press

• United Daily News - Chinese-language

• China Times - Chinese-language daily

• The Liberty Times - Chinese-language daily

• Taipei Times - English-language daily

• Taiwan News - English-language daily

Television

• Chinese Television System (CTS)

• Taiwan Television Enterprise (TTV) - commercial

• Formosa Television (FTV) - commercial

• Public Television Service (PTS) - non-profit public broadcaster

Radio

• Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC) - national and regional networks

• CBS-Radio Taiwan International - national broadcaster; also beams services to mainland China and the rest of the world in various languages and Chinese dialects

• International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT) - English-language FM station

News agency/online

• Focus Taiwan - English-language service of state-run Central News Agency (CNA)