Despite its often draconian efforts at thought control, however, it was unable to stem the tide of free speech. Eventually the KMT lost its monopoly on the media along with political power. After the election, the KMT got rid of its minor newspapers, which had small circulations and were losing money. In other words, it turned out to be just as eager to control the media as its predecessor. Having emerged from KMT control, Taiwan's media is now prey to another monopoly.
Political powers remain the driving force behind media operations.
Despite Taiwan's claim to be a democracy, its media remains in the authoritarian era. All the parties claim to respect democracy and media freedom, but they all stretch their tentacles into media institutions and manipulate them. This is a tragedy for the media and a shame to the democracy Taiwan claims to practice. Giving free rein to the media may invite capitalist manipulation and commercialism. But Taiwan's media is suffering from a double malady of political interference and commercialism.