Taipei, July 15 (CNA) The Association of Taiwan Journalists (ATJ) pushed the government Thursday to enshrine press freedom in the new, or largely amended, constitution.
Senior members of the group made the pitch during a meeting with Su Tseng-chang, President Chen Shui-bian's chief of staff. The meeting was part of Su's efforts to solicit opinions from various social quarters about Chen's much-touted constitutional re-engineering plan.
The journalist group suggested that the "human rights" chapter of the constitution include provisions safeguarding press freedom, meaning that all Republic of China citizens are entitled to full freedom to express their opinions and access to government information. "These rights should be well protected in the new constitution, " ATJ President Lu Tung-hsi said, adding that protection of full press freedom requires not only constitutional enshrinement and legislation but also adjustment of the government's attitude toward enforcing relevant systems and regulations.
Ho Jung-hsing, the ATJ's founding president, echoed Lu's views, saying that complementary legislation is very important in substantiating "100 percent" press freedom.
Besides enshrining press freedom, Ho said, the government should push for an early passage of a code of practice on access to government information, as well as revisions to the existing national secrets protection law to pave the way for easier access to government information or official files and documents.
Ho said the ATJ also hopes that the Criminal Code can be revised to de-criminalize libel and slander to facilitate the protection of full press freedom.
On Sept. 1 -- Journalists Day -- Ho said, the ATJ will unveil its preferred wording for the press freedom provisions to be enshrined in the new constitution.
Lin Chieh-you, the ATJ's chief executive, said the association will form a promotional panel to consult with the ruling and opposition parties on the enshrinement of press freedom in the new constitution. "The ATJ will also organize an international seminar on Taiwan's press freedom development next March. If Taiwan can enshrine press freedom in its new constitution, it will become a guidepost for Asian countries and even set a model for countries around the world to emulate," Lin said.
In response, Su said he looks forward to seeing Taiwan become the first Asian country to enshrine press freedom in its constitution.
Throughout the meeting, Su listened attentively to the ATJ executives' opinions regarding the much-anticipated constitutional overhaul.
The ATJ was the second stop on Su's campaign to solicit opinions from various social quarters and individuals about constitutional re-engineering in order to forge a national consensus on the ambitious reform program.