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Outlet profile

Taipei Times

Taiwan pro-independence, center-left

Owned byLiberty Times Group, controlled by the family of the late Lin Rong-san (founder, died 2015), a Taiwanese businessman and real estate developer
FundingCommercial revenue — primarily advertising and subscriptions — as part of the broader Liberty Times Group, which also publishes Taiwan's highest-circulation Chinese-language daily, the Liberty Times
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

The Taipei Times was founded on June 15, 1999, by the Liberty Times Group, making it Taiwan's third English-language newspaper at the time. The group was built by Lin Rong-san, a Taiwanese politician, real estate developer, and businessman who Forbes ranked as the 9th wealthiest person in Taiwan before his death in November 2015. The Liberty Times Group also publishes the Chinese-language Liberty Times, which is Taiwan's largest newspaper by circulation and carries a firmly pro-Taiwan independence editorial line; the Taipei Times shares that orientation. Over the following decade, Taipei Times outlasted its two main English-language rivals: Taiwan News ceased print publication around 2010, and the China Post followed suit around 2015, leaving Taipei Times as the only English-language print daily in Taiwan by 2017. The paper's editorials have consistently backed Taiwan's distinct national identity, supported the DPP's political agenda, and opposed closer political ties with mainland China. During Trump's second term, beginning January 2025, the paper has been notably critical of what it describes as U.S. 'strategic ambiguity' and uncertainty under Trump — raising alarm about delayed arms sales, Trump's equivocal statements on whether the U.S. would defend Taiwan, and the risks posed by a transactional U.S.-China relationship at Taiwan's expense. Media Bias/Fact Check rates the outlet as Left-Center in bias with generally high factual reporting standards.

Sources

  1. Taipei Times – Wikipedia
  2. Liberty Times – Wikipedia
  3. Lin Rong-San – Wikipedia
  4. Taipei Times – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
  5. EDITORIAL: Trump's softer tone unlikely to last – Taipei Times
  6. Trump's shifting remarks on Taiwan are perfect for China to exploit – Taipei Times
  7. Trump 2.0 implications for Taiwan – Taipei Times
  8. US-Taiwan Relations 2025 Review and 2026 Outlook – Taiwan Insight

Profile compiled 2026-06-26; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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