Taiwan Unveils First English TV Channel As China Pressure Increases

In a bid to boost its international outreach against an intensified pressure campaign by Beijing, Taiwan launched its first English-language TV channel on Monday — a move set to redefine its relationship with the West and the United States.

TaiwanPlus has been a domestic success, but it will only be available on the island, for now, limiting its international reach.

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Taiwan has never been ruled by China and the rest of the world agrees. But it lives under constant threat of an invasion by China, which claims Taiwan to be part of its territory, and claims it will be conquered one day by force.

Beijing’s state-run media has an increasingly large global footprint, mostly through the CGTN television network and the embrace of social media platforms like Twitter and YouTube that are banned domestically.

Officials are rolling out a new social media platform that they say will counter China’s narrative in Taiwan. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said TaiwanPlus is designed as an alternative to Facebook and YouTube.

Overseeing the launch ceremony on Monday, President Tsai Ing-wen said the 24-hour channel would “bring Taiwan to the international community” as it seeks closer ties with “countries that share our core values of freedom and democracy”.

“I am sure this new TV channel will help bolster our international outreach,” she said. China has ramped up diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan in recent years.

It aims to keep the island democracy isolated and has reacted with growing anger to visits by foreign politicians, most recently with a massive show of force to protest US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip in August.

“We have an evil neighbour that constantly threatens us with the use of force… but we are not intimidated and life goes on normally,” Premier Su Tseng-chang told reporters at the launch.

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“Freedom, democracy and human rights have progressed substantively. Many friends in the world want to know how Taiwan has managed that and Taiwan is willing to let the world know,” he added.

The government hopes TaiwanPlus is available in the United States in six months, this was revealed by the Culture Minister Lee Yung-te.