Senior US reporter: China pressures foreign media to downplay Taiwan’s national status

The 5th Berlin Taiwan Conference was held from 12th to 13th at the National Library in Berlin. Former Bloomberg (Bloomberg) Taiwan correspondent He Guisen (first from left) revealed the experience of Taiwan being suppressed by China in international media reports. The person in the middle is Glacier, a scholar from a US think tank. (Central News Agency)

The 5th Berlin Taiwan Conference

Former "Bloomberg" senior American reporter in Taiwan, He Guisen, recently pointed out from his own experience at the fifth "Berlin Taiwan Conference" that he once called Taiwan a "country" in a report on Taiwan-US maritime patrol cooperation, and was immediately strongly protested by Beijing, which resulted in Bloomberg's operating license in China being threatened. Foreign media used terms such as "autonomous island" and "island democracy" to downplay Taiwan's national status, which also reflects China's influence on international news reports.

He revealed that he called Taiwan a "country," which threatened Bloomberg's operating license in China.

According to the Central News Agency, the fifth "Berlin Taiwan Conference" was held from the 12th to the 13th at the National Library in Berlin. This year's theme is "Focus on Taiwan." Former President Tsai Ing-wen delivered a video message to share the vitality of Taiwan's civil society; Director General of the Asia-Pacific Department of the German Foreign Ministry Hartmann attended and delivered a speech.

During the meeting, Ho Guisen, during the conversation with Glaser, Director of the Indo-Pacific Program of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), Pederen, Executive Director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China Policy (IPAC), and German Member of Parliament Volkmann, pointed out that he once referred to Taiwan as a "country" in a report on Taiwan-US maritime patrol cooperation, and was immediately strongly protested by China, and even threatened Bloomberg's operating license in China.

Ho said that international media often use terms such as "autonomous island" and "island democracy" to describe Taiwan, but they do not use the same terms to refer to countries such as Britain and Australia. These terms downplay Taiwan's national status and also reflect China's influence on international news reports.

Glaser: China is systematically isolating Taiwan

Glaser pointed out that China is systematically isolating Taiwan. Through diplomatic influence, some countries have restricted Taiwan's transit rights, refused to recognize Taiwan's passport, prevented Taiwan representatives from participating in international meetings, and even pressured companies to change Taiwan's name, comprehensively restricting Taiwan's international space.

She suggested that the Group of Seven Major Industrial Countries (G7) establish a joint response mechanism and set up a corporate confidential reporting channel to assist countries and companies that are under political and commercial pressure from China.