Silencing TaiwanPlus would weaken the island democracy

Taiwan's only English-language media outlet is a crucial link in the battle for global public opinion. | REUTERS

Aug 25, 2026

In an era when authoritarian states pour vast resources into global media empires to shape perceptions, Taiwan’s sole international English-language news channel, TaiwanPlus, faces an existential threat from within.

The Kuomintang (KMT)-led opposition is pushing to slash nearly its entire budget subsidy. This is not mere fiscal scrutiny. It is a politically biased, shortsighted move that risks silencing Taiwan’s primary platform for speaking directly to the world — precisely at the moment when Beijing is intensifying its cognitive warfare and disinformation campaigns against the island democracy.

TaiwanPlus, on which this writer has appeared, stands as the only dedicated English-language news service produced by Taiwan for international audiences. While state-backed outlets such as China’s CGTN, Turkey’s TRT, Russia’s RT, Pakistan Television and Qatar’s Al Jazeera aggressively expand their reach and influence operations, TaiwanPlus has quietly built a meaningful presence in key democracies, including India, the United States, the Philippines, Canada and Singapore. Its achievement is all the more remarkable given the constraints under which it operates. Yet instead of recognition, it has drawn fire from opposition legislators, who often side, ironically, with Beijing.

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