Liberty Times

Liberty Times: Taiwan's Flagship News Outlet and Censorship in China

What Liberty Times Is

Liberty Times (自由時報) launched in 1980 as an independent newspaper in Taiwan and is now the country's largest daily by circulation. The publication is owned by the Taiwan Wisdom Media Group and operates under editorial independence from any single political party, though its reporting reflects a democratic editorial stance. The paper maintains a digital presence through its main website and mobile platforms, serving both domestic Taiwanese readers and international audiences interested in cross-strait affairs and Taiwan-specific news.

Why It's Censored

Liberty Times faces systematic blocking in mainland China and North Korea due to its coverage of Taiwan independence movements, human rights issues, and criticism of Beijing's governance. In China, the blocking falls under the broader censorship framework enforced by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The publication's reporting on Uyghur human rights, Hong Kong freedoms, and Taiwan's political autonomy directly violates content restrictions codified in China's Internet Security Law (2016) and Cybersecurity Law (2017).

In North Korea, blocking is enforced through the state telecommunications monopoly Korea Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (KPTC). Access to all international news outlets—including Liberty Times—is restricted under the regime's information control policy. The country maintains one of the world's most restrictive internet environments, with access limited to government-approved domestic services.

Technical Blocking Methods

China employs multiple overlapping techniques to block Liberty Times. DNS filtering at the Great Firewall level redirects queries for the site's domain to null routes or government-controlled servers. IP-level blocking prevents direct access to known server addresses hosting the content. SNI (Server Name Indication) filtering inspects TLS handshakes to identify and block HTTPS connections to the domain. Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) monitors traffic patterns to identify encrypted connections to blocked news sites, even when users attempt to obfuscate the destination.

North Korea's blocking is less technically sophisticated but more absolute—the regime simply does not route international traffic to most foreign news sources. This functions as a blanket restriction rather than targeted filtering.

User Workarounds

Users in China attempting to access Liberty Times typically employ encrypted VPN tunnels to route traffic outside the country's filtering infrastructure. Readers route connections through servers located in uncensored jurisdictions, encrypting the traffic end-to-end to prevent DPI detection of blocked domains. Some users configure proxies or use protocol obfuscation tools designed to mask the nature of their traffic. These methods carry legal risk in mainland China, where unauthorized VPN use has faced increased enforcement since 2017.

In North Korea, access is nearly impossible without leaving the country or accessing rare smuggled satellite connections.

Alternatives

Readers seeking similar Taiwan-focused independent journalism can access Taiwan News, a Taiwan-based English-language outlet similarly blocked in mainland China but available in most other regions. CommonWealth Magazine (天下雜誌) offers investigative reporting on Taiwan and cross-strait issues, though it experiences partial blocking and throttling in China. Radio Taiwan International (RTI) provides news via shortwave and online platforms with slightly less aggressive blocking due to its international broadcasting status.

All three alternatives face some level of restriction in mainland China.

Outlook

Censorship of Liberty Times is tightening rather than easing. China's filtering infrastructure has grown more sophisticated since 2020, with multi-layered blocking now standard for major Taiwan media outlets. Enforcement actions against VPN use have increased. North Korea's restrictions remain static and absolute. Without significant political change in either country, users should expect continued and intensifying technical barriers to accessing the publication.