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Iranian Journalists' View on Coverage of Protests

People protest in Tehran, Iran December 30, 2017 in this picture obtained from social media. REUTERS.
People protest in Tehran, Iran December 30, 2017 in this picture obtained from social media. REUTERS.
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Iranian Journalists' View on Coverage of Protests

People protest in Tehran, Iran December 30, 2017 in this picture obtained from social media. REUTERS.
People protest in Tehran, Iran December 30, 2017 in this picture obtained from social media. REUTERS.

Iranian media outlets are one more time facing an uneasy test to evaluate their credibility and their readiness to cover internal crises.

One month ago, Iranian citizens started protesting against the high cost of living. During electoral campaigns, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned against altercations among officials through media platforms and social movements.

The war wasn’t restricted to authorities and social media. For its part, the media was a battlefield arena for official and unofficial media -- Iranian channels only reported a number of news from Iranian officials while Persian channels outside Iran showed a totally different coverage.

In this context, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper surveilled Iranian journalists about the Iranian media performance in covering the protests.

Iran Seeks Imposing Censorship on Foreign Media Outlets

Reza Moini, the head of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 's Iran/Afghanistan desk, told Asharq Al-Awsat in a phone call that the coverage of the protests in Iran was influenced by "Iran's policy of internationalizing censorship", pointing out that authorities are trying through intimidation to publish Iranian internal news in foreign media.

“We are facing two realities. We don’t have free independent internal channels to report news. Some international channels that provide a Persian service represent a more independent source,” Moini stated.

Based on previous data published by RSF regarding this topic, Moini stated that there are attempts to seize these channels, noting that the Iranian regime is threatening journalists working with them and tempting others. “If I were to give an example about attempts to control foreign media, I would compare news published by Reuters and AFP,” he said. Moini pointed out that AFP has an office in Tehran and is being pressured.

According to Moini, any journalist who goes to Iran faces double pressures if he has a dual nationality, and if he has a single nationality then he would be fasced with files against the channel or newspaper he works for.

As for restrictions made on the Internet, he saw that the regime suffers from paradoxical positions towards the media. It gains money from the iIternet, but at the same time imposes restrictions on citizens’ freedoms.

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Taiwanese Rally For, Against the Recall of Opposition Lawmakers Seen as Close to China

A Taiwan flag can be seen at Liberty Square in Taipei, Taiwan, July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
A Taiwan flag can be seen at Liberty Square in Taipei, Taiwan, July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
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Taiwanese Rally For, Against the Recall of Opposition Lawmakers Seen as Close to China

A Taiwan flag can be seen at Liberty Square in Taipei, Taiwan, July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
A Taiwan flag can be seen at Liberty Square in Taipei, Taiwan, July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo

Threats from China and anger over legislative deadlock are dominating Taiwan's political discourse as residents rally for and against a campaign to recall two dozen opposition Nationalist Party lawmakers in polling to be held on Saturday.

Thousands of supporters of the independence-leaning ruling Democratic Progressive Party turned out in the heart of the capital Taipei on Thursday to hear from civil society activists, writers, musicians and others who support the recalls, which could potentially give the party, also known as the DPP, a majority in the legislature.

The DPP won last year’s presidential election, but came up short in the legislature, The AP news reported.

Since then, the China-friendly Nationalists, also known as the KMT, and their allies have sought to hobble the power of the executive and blocked key legislation, especially the defense budget.

That has been seen as undermining both Taiwan’s hard-won democracy and its ability to deter China’s threat to invade the island it considers its own territory. Those concerns prompted activists to campaign for recall votes in the districts where Nationalists were seen as most vulnerable, and they succeeded in 24 districts where votes are scheduled this weekend.

A recall measures must win 40% of the constituents in a district to succeed, after which a special election will be held to fill the seat, in which all parties can compete.

The KMT and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party together hold a majority in the parliament with 62 seats, while the ruling DPP holds 51 seats.

The KMT on Thursday sent some of its best known politicians, including the mayor of Taipei, the speaker of the legislature and the party chairman, out to urge voters to oppose the recall. It also planned a rally in Taipei on Friday. The KMT calls the measure a power grab by the DPP and a threat to multi-party democracy.

Perhaps more than any issue, China has loomed over the campaign, with both its officials and state media dismissing the recall effort as a further futile attempt to preclude what they call the inevitability of Beijing's annexation of Taiwan, either by military or peaceful means.

On Taiwan, it has brought out differences between Taiwanese who favor pursuing the current path and those who seek accommodation with Beijing. China-friendly politicians have been accused of selling out Taiwan for accepting trips to the mainland and meetings with Chinese politicians, while they defend themselves as keeping open lines of communication in light of Beijing's refusal to interact with the DPP.

The recall campaign — Taiwan's first — was prompted by anti-KMT groups alarmed by the party's closeness with China, corruption and the KMT's refusal to work with President Lai Ching-te's administration.

They first needed to gather signatures from 10% of voters in each district, targeting legislators seen as particularly vulnerable or controversial and under China's influence. Each campaign seeking to unseat a single legislator required a huge organizational effort, limiting the number of KMT lawmakers targeted.

The KMT is primed to contest any special elections that must be called within six months, raising the possibility that they could win back the seats, and the DPP, although enlivened by the campaign, could still remain in the minority.