The Liberty Times is a national newspaper published in Taiwan. Founded by Lin Rong-San, it is published by the Liberty Times Group. The newspaper was first published on 17 April 1980, as Liberty Daily, before adopting its current name in 1987. In 1999, the owners launched a separate English language newspaper, the Taipei Times.
It is one of the four most influential newspapers in Taiwan, the other three being the Apple Daily, the China Times, and the United Daily News. While the United Daily News is regarded as taking an editorial line that supports a Pan-Blue political stance, the Liberty Times is considered to take a Pan-Green pro-independence political stance.
History
Early history
In 1946, the Three Principles of the People Youth League established a newspaper in Taitung, called Taitung Daobao. Initially on the verge of closure in 1948, it was taken over by Chen Zhen-zong and renamed Taitung Xinbao, becoming the first newspaper in eastern Taiwan. However, due to insufficient funding, the publication ceased in October 1950. It resumed operations in July 1952 and was later privatised by Wu A-ming in early 1961, eventually relocating to Changhua and rebranding as the Ziqiang Ribao.
Foundation and early development
The Liberty Daily was founded in April 1980 by Lin Rong-San, following his acquisition of Ziqiang Ribao for 40 million NT dollars. Despite significant investment, the paper initially suffered monthly losses of around 20 million NT.
To establish itself in the market, Liberty Daily dramatically reduced the price of small ads from 35 NT to 5 NT, attracting advertisements and filling a gap left by larger newspapers due to limited space. The paper also capitalised on the rise of lotteries, publishing columns that predicted winning numbers, which not only boosted readership but also significantly increased revenue from small ads related to lotteries. This strategy helped the paper balance its finances, with circulation rising from 30,000 to 40,000 copies and monthly ad revenue exceeding a million NT.
Political positions
The Liberty Times has been notably partisan, at times opportunistically aligning with the prevailing political forces. In 2000, it supported the Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Lien Chan, but by 2004, it shifted its support to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)'s candidate, Chen Shui-bian. In a survey published in 2022, the newspaper was believed to support the Pan-Green Coalition and had a China-critical leaning. It has nearly become a mouthpiece for the Taiwanese independence faction within the DPP, criticizing even the moderate policies of President Tsai Ing-wen.
Reputation
In 2025, a survey conducted by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism found that 40% of respondents trusted the Liberty Times, while 29% expressed distrust. Overall, 30% of respondents expressed trust in news.
Awards and recognitions
{| class="wikitable sortable"
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! Year !! Awarded by !! Category !! Award type !! Title !! Journalists !! References
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| 2010 || The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) || Excellence in Reporting on the Environment || Award for Excellence || 煙囪裡的秘密—台灣六輕麥寮高罹癌率大追蹤 || 劉力仁、林國賢、謝文華、王昶閔 ||
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| 2010 || Taipei Journalists Association's Social Bright Side Reporting Awards (SBSRA) || Printed Newspapers (平面新聞報紙類獎項) || Award || 菜販捐圖書館、續攢千萬助貧 || 黃明堂 ||
|}
See also
- Taipei Times
- Media in Taiwan