Majority of Taiwanese support restrictions on media

The majority of Taiwanese think there is too much graphic and violent content in newspaper reports and that the government should take measures to deal with the issue in the absence of media self-restriction, according to a government poll released Sunday.

Some 70 percent of the respondents said newspapers in Taiwan contain too many graphic descriptions of violence, while 84 percent said they would support laws to restrict such content.

The poll, conducted by Trendgo Marketing Research Co. June 8-10, was commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) amid controversy over its proposed amendment to the Children and Youth Welfare Act to restrict newspapers from reporting graphic details of crime, suicides or drug abuse.

On the question of whether they thought graphic reporting could have a negative impact on children, some 86 percent of the respondents said yes.

Meanwhile, 79 percent said a rating system similar to that used for television programs and movies should be applied to the print media.

The poll also showed that about 54 percent of the public think newspapers do not apply any self-restrictions to their reporting on violence, sex crimes, suicides or drug-abuse.

Around 90 percent of the respondents expressed support for the MOI`s plan to revise the Children and Youth Welfare Act to stipulate that the Taiwan Newspaper Association establish a self-restriction mechanism or submit to government intervention.

Also, nearly 95 percent of the public want to see a ban on revealing the names of children or youths in custody cases, according to the poll.

In addition, nearly 83 percent are in favor of similar rules regarding reports on juvenile crime, the poll showed.

The company conducted the survey via telephone and obtained a total of 1,068 valid responses. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points and the poll had confidence level of 95 percent.

Source: ANTARA