Taipei, July 1 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said Thursday that the Central News Agency's (CNA's) metamorphosis from a political party's publicity organ into a publicly owned news media organization epitomizes Taiwan's democratization.
Chen made the remarks at a gala party marking the eighth anniversary of CNA's conversion into a publicly owned media organization and its 80th founding anniversary.
To cope with Taiwan's rapid democratic development and changing media environment, Chen said, the Legislative Yuan passed a statute governing the organization and operation of CNA in late 1995, paving the way for its transformation into a publicly owned news organization free from any political affiliation.
Over the past eight years, Chen said, CNA has established a high-caliber reputation as "the medium among media" with its open-mindedness, professionalism and modern management.
CNA was founded in 1924 in Guangzhou, mainland China, as a publicity organ of the Republic of China's ruling Kuomintang (KMT) and relocated to Taiwan along with the ROC government in 1949 after the Chinese communists took control of the mainland.
Over the past eight decades, Chen said, CNA has left a precious legacy in Taiwan's journalistic history. "And its metamorphosis into a publicly owned news media organization free of party affiliation also symbolizes Taiwan's progress in political democratization, " he added.