The traditions of the Chinese press in Malaysia go back 160 years to Malaysia’s first Chinese-language newspaper, considered by scholars as the first modern periodical anywhere. Since then, this press has aided Christian missionary efforts in China and Southeast Asia, helped develop permanent Chinese communities in the Malay peninsula, called for both reformist and revolutionary movements in China, fought against the Japanese during World War II, and supported the formation of a Malaysian state–all the while trying to retain valuable aspects of Chinese culture. Currently, the Malaysian Chinese community is served by 26 newspapers (23 are dailies), a few local magazines, a Chinese section of Radio Malaysia, and a daily Chinese newscast and limited drama on television. Readership of Chinese papers is the highest of any ethnic press in the country. [Download]