Taiwan to Ease Curbs on New Newspapers
The Nationalist Chinese government announced Thursday its latest easing of political restraints, saying it will lift a ban on new newspapers and remove restrictions on the number of pages they may print.
The Government Information Office said it has been instructed by Premier Yu Kuo-hua to reconsider how best to remove the limits, which have been criticized for restricting freedom of the press. It was unclear when the restrictions would be lifted and whether they would be removed completely or only eased.
The announcement followed a threat by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party to defy the ban by opening a new newspaper with or without permission.
The government has refused to issue licenses for new newspapers since the late 1950s and has limited existing papers to 12 pages a day.
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