아시아의 언론 자유(2015년 2월 21일)

'국경 없는 기자회(Reporters without Borders)'가 2월 12일에 발표한 '세계 언론 자유 지수(World Press 

Freedom Index)'를 보니 참 답답합니다. 중국, 대만, 일본, 한국, 싱가포르, 홍콩... 경제적으로는 모두 세계 

상위권이지만 언론의 자유에 관한 한 부끄러운 수준입니다. 전체 180 개의 조사 대상 중에서 대만 51위, 

한국 60위, 일본 61위, 홍콩 70위, 싱가포르 153위, 중국 176위라고 하니까요. 언제나 경제력에 상응하는 

자유를 누리게 될까요? 아래에 Taiwan Today가 보내준 관련 기사를 옮겨둡니다. 

Taiwan was rated the top Asian nation for the fourth straight year in the latest World Press Freedom Index released Feb. 12 by France-based Reporters without Borders (RSF).

In the survey of 180 countries and territories, Taiwan finished 51st, outperforming South Korea, 60th; Japan, 61st; Hong Kong, 70th; Singapore, 153rd; and mainland China, 176th. Finland, Norway and Denmark topped the list in that order.

On a scale of zero to 100, with zero the best possible result, Taiwan scored 24.83. This placed it among 31 economies deemed to have “satisfactory” levels of press freedom.

According to RSF, growing threats from nonstate operatives, violence during demonstrations and the economic crisis saw media freedom decline on all fronts, with two-thirds of the list performing worse than the year before.

The index highlights the worldwide deterioration in freedom of information in 2014, the report said, citing criminalization of blasphemy, information and news control as well as terrorism as some of the key contributors to the negative trend.

First launched in 2002, the index is compiled with questionnaires sent to correspondents, human rights defenders, journalists, jurists and researchers around the globe. It assesses a country’s performance based on the criteria of abuses, environment and self-censorship, infrastructure, legislative framework, media independence, pluralism and transparency.