In protecting freedom of the press and democracy in Taiwan, the China Times took up a sympathetic posture towards early opposition movements, most notably when, despite outside pressure, it printed word-for-word transcripts of the proceedings of the Formosa Incident trial.
時報在維護新聞自由與國家民主方面，以對民國七十年代的黨外運動採取同情態度一事最膾炙人口，當時中國時報不畏壓力，全文刊載了美麗島大審的審判文。