About Focus Taiwan (CNA English News)

The national news agency of the Republic of China

The Central News Agency (CNA) is the national news agency of the Republic of China (ROC) and the most influential news organization in Taiwan.

Since its establishment, CNA has maintained a high standard of professionalism while keeping up with the times by adopting new technology in the digital era.

Please browse CNA’s main news website – www.cna.com.tw – for the latest coverage of news in Taiwan.

You are also welcome to download CNA’s App.

Chronicling the times for almost a century

At the forefront of a fast-changing world, CNA - the ROC's oldest, largest, and most reliable news agency - has maintained its leadership role over the years.

Founded in Guangzhou, China on April 1, 1924, CNA followed the ROC's development in turbulent times during the early decades of the 20th century.

The agency witnessed the Northern Expedition, the War of Resistance against Japan, Taiwan's liberation from Japan, and the Chinese Civil War. CNA's war correspondents on the frontlines reported first-hand information about the conflicts, which helped establish CNA as the world's fifth-largest news agency.

In 1949, CNA officially relocated to Taiwan with the ROC government and was present when Taiwan went through the Artillery Bombardment of Kinmen, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the ROC's exit from the United Nations, and the historical low point when the United States severed diplomatic ties with the ROC.

CNA also witnessed the launch of the Ten Major Infrastructure Projects, recorded Taiwan's admirable economic miracle during the 1970s, and followed the development of Taiwan's democratization and peaceful transfers of power between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

The agency has recorded the shared history of Taiwan's people through nearly ten million news reports and two million photographs to date.

Along with Taiwan's democratization, CNA was restructured into a nonprofit corporation and became the country's national news agency through a law passed by the Legislative Yuan in 1996. Under the law, it is required to independently fulfill three missions:

To serve the public by providing domestic and global news services

To transmit news about the country to the outside world and promote understanding of Taiwan in the international community

To strengthen cooperation between Taiwanese and global news agencies and enhance international news exchanges

As it moves closer to its 100th anniversary, CNA will continue to advance with the times.

Real-time news across the world; the eyes of Chinese-speaking audiences

CNA's professional team has four basic goals when reporting the news: accuracy, speed, objectivity and comprehensiveness. The agency is the only multilingual news platform in Taiwan, issuing over 1,000 news stories a day in Chinese, English, and Japanese. The platform allows the agency to directly reach out to not only Taiwanese readers, but also overseas Chinese and international audiences.

With its Chinese website, the international "Focus Taiwan" website, and three news apps in Chinese, English, and Japanese, CNA stays on top of global trends and developments, while giving the world a clear view of Taiwan.

Extensive network of foreign-based correspondents

CNA has the highest number of overseas correspondents of any Taiwanese media, with presences in some 30 locations worldwide. CNA's overseas correspondents report hard news and feature stories accompanied by photos and videos that focus on politics, the economy, culture, and social developments in the societies they cover, helping Taiwan keep up with the world.

International media cooperation extends influence

To meet the challenges of a new media era, CNA has been expanding its sources of international stories by strengthening cooperation with international media, a strategy that will further enhance the agency's global visibility and influence.

CNA's media partners include:

Associated Press

Reuters, Agence France-Presse

Deutsche Welle

Bloomberg

European Pressphoto Agency

Yonhap News Agency

Anadolu Agency

Thai TV Colour Channel 3

Kyodo News

Lusa News Agency

Antara News

Sputnik International

Montsame News Agency

Nikkei Telecom

Japanese web portals:

Yahoo

Livedoor

Excite

A high standard of professionalism makes CNA

As an old professional news brand, CNA prides itself on the timeliness, accuracy, objectivity and diversity of its news reports and photos. It has won several major awards, including the Excellent Journalism Award, Consumer Rights Reporting Awards, Modern Financial and Economic News Awards, the Excellent News Award of the Ministry of the Interior, Social Bright Side Reporting Awards, and the Taiwan Press Photo Contest.

A survey by Taiwan Media Watch in 2015 revealed that journalists in Taiwan saw CNA as the most reliable of any Taiwanese media outlet.

According to the 2018 Digital News Report by Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, CNA's real-time news was considered more trustworthy than that of any other Taiwanese media outlets.

In an era filled with clickbait, disinformation and sensationalism, CNA has maintained a high standard of professionalism and taken seriously its obligation to report the news without bias or prejudice. This approach ensures that the international community gets an accurate picture of Taiwan's democracy and development.

A Media Lab for digital convergence services

In 1990, CNA was the first news organization in Taiwan to computerize its news operations, and it has since led the sector in digitization. Since April 1, 2011, CNA has gradually introduced applications that give users of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices access to news stories, photos, videos, and graphics.

In addition to its Chinese-language app, CNA's "Focus Taiwan" apps in English and Japanese also provide real-time news, allowing foreign readers to keep abreast of what is happening in Taiwan.

CNA's mobile site is faster than 90 percent of the news websites in Taiwan, promising a quality news reading experience for mobile device users.

Additionally, CNA began broadcasting its online video program "CNA Global View" on April 1, 2010, which runs in-depth news videos produced by hundreds of CNA correspondents in Taiwan and key cities around the world.

In July 2018, CNA started the operation of its Media Lab. With top-notch technology from the Institute for Information Industry, the Media Lab has strengthened CNA's digital news coverage and improved the overall digital reading experience in the Chinese-speaking world.

Grooming international news talent

CNA has Taiwan's best overseas correspondents and extensive journalistic experience, and it is determined to carry that tradition forward. Since 2017, CNA's internship program "I Can Be an Overseas Correspondent" has sent excellent students abroad as intern journalists in different countries, with the goal of cultivating international news talent for Taiwan.

CNA also hosts the annual Tseng Hsu-pai Journalist Awards, the most prestigious academic journalism prize with the longest history in Taiwan.

Since 2013, the agency has been commissioned by Delta Electronics Inc. to select the winner of "The Energy and Climate Change Award." The initiative espouses a spirit of being friendly to the environment and saving energy, and reminds the media of its civic responsibility.

CNA publications and services

Executives

CNA Chairman Lee, Yung-Te

Education:

B.A., Department of Political Science, National Chengchi University (1977)

Fellow, JSK Journalism Fellowships, Department of Communication, Stanford University, USA (1990-1991)

Work Experience:

Reporter, Independence Evening Post (1979-1988)

Editor-in-Chief, Independence Evening Post (1989-1996)

President, Taiwan Public Television Service Foundation (1998-2004)

Minister, Council for Hakka Affairs, Executive Yuan (2005-2008)

Deputy Mayor, Kaohsiung City (2008-2014)

Minister, Hakka Affairs Council (2016-2020)

Minister, Ministry of Culture (2020-2023)

Minister without Portfolio, Executive Yuan (2023-2023.6)

CNA President Anne Wan-Ling Hu

Education:

B.A., Department of French, Tamkang University (1984)

M.A., Graduate Institute of European Studies, Tamkang University (1988)

Ph.D., Graduate Institute of National Development and Mainland China Studies, Chinese Culture University (2001)

Ph.D., College of Business, National Taipei University (2005)

Work Experience:

French-speaking secretary, liaison office of the International Olympic Committee (1986-1988)

Political, finance, and sports reporter and anchor, CTS (Chinese Television System) (1988-1997)

Producer and anchor, FTV (Formosa Television) Taiwanese-language news (1997-2002)

Director of production center and deputy director of news center, FTV (1999-2002)

Manager of news department, FTV (2002-2017)

Vice president, FTV (2017-2024)