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Wang Hsing-ching
Wang Hsing-ching (simplified Chinese: 王杏庆; traditional Chinese: 王杏慶; pinyin: Wáng Xìngqìng; 1946 – 9 June 2025), whose pseudonym was Nanfang Shuo (南方朔, Nánfāng Shuò), was a Taiwanese journalist, political commentator and cultural critic. Until his death, he was the chief editor and writer of The Journalist magazine (新新聞週刊), with commentaries on current issues in major newspapers. He co-founded The Journalist when he was in his 40s. His writings, including Western ideas analysis, social phenomena criticism, and literature comments, were all regarded as very influential. Crediting his intellectual contribution to society, he was known as "the most industrious private scholar in Taiwan".
Wang was born in 1946. He earned his undergraduate degree in the School for Forestry and Resource Conservation, from National Taiwan University and a doctorate degree at Chinese Culture University. The Senkaku (Diaoyutai) Island incident made Wang reach an epiphany to become a journalist. During that period, Wang abandoned his overseas study plan and stayed in Taiwan, starting his career. His first journalist job was at the Taiwanese newspaper National Evening News (Chinese: 民族晚報). In the 1970s, Wang was a reporter for the Taiwan Times, and afterwards worked as a writer, vice-general editor, and general editor in The China Times (中國時報). Although he had never received technical university training in journalism, he had more than twenty years of experience in the mass media as a news commentator.
Wang, as an author, began with topics mainly concerned about cultural changes, political changes, and the controversies in society. His early works were based on the themes of describing and criticizing cultures and politics, e.g. Diguo zhuyi yu Taiwan duli yundong (帝國主義與臺灣獨立運動). Later in his career, he started publishing critical book reviews. Towards his death, Wang published a series of books about "Language". Magical Eyes, his last book, (魔幻之眼) is his first published work in the book commentary collection. As a tutor through writing, his analysis focused on culture, history, thoughts, politics, etc.
Wang was never shy about expressing his critical opinions on current affairs. In the summer of 2004, he attended a forum in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre concerning the political issues in Taiwan and relations across the Taiwan Strait after the presidential election. He suggested that the two shores of the Strait should make positive interactions in order to solve the rational problems.
As a journalist and the chief writer of The Journalist magazine, he had his own independent analysis towards political issues. Not long after President Chen Shuibien gave the speech of "One State on Each Side", he wrote critiques on it, which were exactly to the point, "democracy in Taiwan is already moving towards a new and populist type of soft politics of terror".
In a public discussion titled "How to build a mass media culture with "taste"?" Wang criticized the current mass media culture. He pointed out that if the speakers/interviewees could not state their stance clearly, they had to "pay the price" in the sense that reporters might twist their words to make a story more dramatic. The unethical reporting of some journalists disappointed Wang, and he urged that journalists had to realize that it was shameful to have disregarded the obligation to report the truth.
At a societal level, he emphasized that not only do the mass media deliver information to the public, but they also affect the social structure and the political environment. He noted that journalists should bear in mind that they have great responsibilities to the general public.
Particularly in Taiwan, he put the blame of the current situation on changes in political conditions. During this unstable period, different types of mass media emerged. As advertising played a greater role in the mass media, it was inevitable that politicians would make use of the mass media for propaganda. However, he said that there were still journalists who stood by their principles, although it remained difficult for them to uphold journalistic ethics.
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Wang Hsing-ching
Wang Hsing-ching (simplified Chinese: 王杏庆; traditional Chinese: 王杏慶; pinyin: Wáng Xìngqìng; 1946 – 9 June 2025), whose pseudonym was Nanfang Shuo (南方朔, Nánfāng Shuò), was a Taiwanese journalist, political commentator and cultural critic. Until his death, he was the chief editor and writer of The Journalist magazine (新新聞週刊), with commentaries on current issues in major newspapers. He co-founded The Journalist when he was in his 40s. His writings, including Western ideas analysis, social phenomena criticism, and literature comments, were all regarded as very influential. Crediting his intellectual contribution to society, he was known as "the most industrious private scholar in Taiwan".
Wang was born in 1946. He earned his undergraduate degree in the School for Forestry and Resource Conservation, from National Taiwan University and a doctorate degree at Chinese Culture University. The Senkaku (Diaoyutai) Island incident made Wang reach an epiphany to become a journalist. During that period, Wang abandoned his overseas study plan and stayed in Taiwan, starting his career. His first journalist job was at the Taiwanese newspaper National Evening News (Chinese: 民族晚報). In the 1970s, Wang was a reporter for the Taiwan Times, and afterwards worked as a writer, vice-general editor, and general editor in The China Times (中國時報). Although he had never received technical university training in journalism, he had more than twenty years of experience in the mass media as a news commentator.
Wang, as an author, began with topics mainly concerned about cultural changes, political changes, and the controversies in society. His early works were based on the themes of describing and criticizing cultures and politics, e.g. Diguo zhuyi yu Taiwan duli yundong (帝國主義與臺灣獨立運動). Later in his career, he started publishing critical book reviews. Towards his death, Wang published a series of books about "Language". Magical Eyes, his last book, (魔幻之眼) is his first published work in the book commentary collection. As a tutor through writing, his analysis focused on culture, history, thoughts, politics, etc.
Wang was never shy about expressing his critical opinions on current affairs. In the summer of 2004, he attended a forum in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre concerning the political issues in Taiwan and relations across the Taiwan Strait after the presidential election. He suggested that the two shores of the Strait should make positive interactions in order to solve the rational problems.
As a journalist and the chief writer of The Journalist magazine, he had his own independent analysis towards political issues. Not long after President Chen Shuibien gave the speech of "One State on Each Side", he wrote critiques on it, which were exactly to the point, "democracy in Taiwan is already moving towards a new and populist type of soft politics of terror".
In a public discussion titled "How to build a mass media culture with "taste"?" Wang criticized the current mass media culture. He pointed out that if the speakers/interviewees could not state their stance clearly, they had to "pay the price" in the sense that reporters might twist their words to make a story more dramatic. The unethical reporting of some journalists disappointed Wang, and he urged that journalists had to realize that it was shameful to have disregarded the obligation to report the truth.
At a societal level, he emphasized that not only do the mass media deliver information to the public, but they also affect the social structure and the political environment. He noted that journalists should bear in mind that they have great responsibilities to the general public.
Particularly in Taiwan, he put the blame of the current situation on changes in political conditions. During this unstable period, different types of mass media emerged. As advertising played a greater role in the mass media, it was inevitable that politicians would make use of the mass media for propaganda. However, he said that there were still journalists who stood by their principles, although it remained difficult for them to uphold journalistic ethics.