Journalistic Ethics Violated: Sanlih Journalist Fired Over Hualien Government Bribery Scandal

In December 2018, it was revealed that under Hualien County Magistrate Fu Kun-chi, the local government had used public funds to issue 25 procurement projects under the guise of 'public opinion monitoring and administrative materials collection'. In reality, these funds were used to buy off local journalists from major TV networks—including Sanlih, FTV, and CTI—to act as political spin doctors and produce positive coverage of the local administration. The disclosure of this bribery scheme sparked a massive backlash, with watchdogs condemning the blatant violation of press freedom and professional ethics. Sanlih promptly fired its involved local reporter to clear its name, but the scandal dealt a devastating blow to the credibility and integrity of Taiwanese journalism.