Non-profit organization Freedom House recently released its 2023 report “Freedom on the Net.” Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) cited the report, saying that, among the 70 countries considered in the report, China’s Internet freedom has ranked at the very bottom for the past nine consecutive years.

China scored only 9 points out of 100, and it rated as “not free”. Taiwan scored 78 points, ranking first in the Asia-Pacific region, and was rated as “free.” The Freedom House report researched the internet environment throughout the world, covering 89 percent of internet users globally. The report ranked the countries based on the criteria of “obstacles to accessing the Internet,” “restrictions on content,” and “user rights violations.”

The report showed that the country with the highest freedom in the world is Iceland (94 points), followed by Estonia (93 points), Canada (88 points), Costa Rica (85 points), the United Kingdom (79 points), Taiwan (78 points), Germany and Japan (77 points), and then United States, France, Australia and the Republic of Georgia (scoring 76 points each). Freedom House has published reports on internet freedom for 13 consecutive years.

The Chinese government has invested heavily in the AI industry, ensuring that internet-related companies follow the government’s authoritarian rule. After years of efforts, China’s Cyberspace Administration has successfully used algorithms, synthetic media and AI to conduct heavy-duty censorship of China’s Internet environment.

Source: LTN, October 5, 2023
https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/4449090

Major Taiwanese newspaper China Times recently reported on a survey by Robert Walters which found that, although the Hong Kong government has introduced a number of measures in recent years to retain and attract talents, more than half of professionals still plan to leave Hong Kong.

Around 15.6 percent of the professionals hope to leave Hong Kong as soon as possible, and 36.7 percent plan to leave in the next 3 to 5 years. Among those planning to leave, 51 percent are between the ages of 27 and 42, and 38 percent are between the ages of 43 and 58.

The survey shows that 96 percent of the professionals who plan to leave have already taken strategic actions to prepare for working abroad. The most common strategy was working for a multinational company, with 60 percent of the respondents adopting this strategy. Meanwhile, some 40 percent of the respondents have already applied for overseas jobs, and 31 percent have started training and studying for overseas careers.

The survey interviewed professionals in different fields such as accounting, engineering and development, financial services, healthcare, human resources, legal and compliance, sales and marketing, supply chain, logistics and procurement, as well as technology and transformation, etc.

Source: China Times, October 2, 2023
https://www.ctee.com.tw/news/20231002701097-430801