Among Asia's freest and most vibrant, Taiwan's press is also among its most worried-about. Under Ma Ying-jeou, president since 2008, commercial ties with China have flourished. His critics fret that Taiwan might pay the price by losing its de facto independence. So they feared the worst when a consortium with extensive mainland business interests wanted to buy Taiwan's most popular newspaper, Apple Daily, from Jimmy Lai, a prominent critic of the Chinese government. In fact, the episode has proved just how hard it is to buy Taiwan's sympathies.
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