The former Taiwanese president had a golden opportunity to give hope to embattled journalists in Hong Kong. He blew it.

The News Lens
Date: 2016/06/16
By: J. Michael Cole

Barred by the Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) administration from traveling to Hong Kong to attend the

Photo Credit: Reuters/達志影像

Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) 2016 Awards gala dinner on June 15, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) delivered his scheduled address via videoconference, during which he emphasized the many values that are shared by the people of Hong Kong and Taiwan. However, Ma’s version of history papered over many of the problems that have haunted the Special Administrative Region in recent years.
Conceived in Taiwan and born in Hong Kong, the former president, who stepped down on May 20, pointed to press freedom as a barometer of societies. “Freedom of the press and standards of professional journalism have always indicated the cultural level of modern societies,” Ma said, adding that they “also reflect core values that Taiwan and Hong Kong share and uphold.”

Referring to the Martial Law period in Taiwan, Ma, who as an alleged “professional student” on U.S. campus may have played a role in state repression, said that as freedom of the press was restricted in Taiwan, “we would go to bookstalls to sneak a peek at banned books smuggled in from Hong Kong.”     [FULL  STORY]