It is ridiculous that some Taiwanese do not even know that Hong Kong has reverted to Chinese control, and that they still regard the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as an area ruled by the UK and the people of Hong Kong, as it was prior to 1997.
Some also believe that capital from Hong Kong does not constitute foreign investment, and that Hong Kong-based companies can legally run cable TV stations in Taiwan. Some pan-blue legislators have even quoted what the Mainland Affairs Council in 1997 defined as a Hong Kong company, and believe that the TVBS cable TV station is not a foreign-owned company. Clearly, such an interpretation is already outdated and does not relate to the current situation. These pan-blue politicians should stop hoodwinking themselves.
Although some of Hong Kong's residents withdrew their capital from the territory when it reverted to China in 1997, many did not, as Beijing had promised that the economic system would remain unchanged for 50 years. However, Beijing's promise turned out to be a pack of lies. Hong Kong's capital is certainly China's capital, for it is China that is now governing the region.
A new controversy has arisen in the case of TVBS, a Taiwanese cable TV channel which draws its capital from two business groups in Hong Kong. According to Article 10 of the Satellite Radio and TV Broadcasting Law (
The channel should certainly accept this, and quickly improve its company structure in accordance with the law, instead of complaining about political oppression and challenging the government by saying stupid things like "Chinese capital? So what?" Otherwise, what is the difference between TVBS general manager Lee Tao (
TVBS exposed convincing evidence concerning former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Chen Che-nan's (
Despite opposition lawmakers' claims to the contrary, Taiwan is a nation in which freedom of speech is largely safeguarded. Otherwise, the DPP administration would not have received so much criticism from the public. Therefore, the GIO's continued investigation into TVBS' shareholder structure and source of capital is just. It has nothing to do with oppressing press freedom.
Labubu, an elf-like plush toy with pointy ears and nine serrated teeth, has become a global sensation, worn by celebrities including Rihanna and Dua Lipa. These dolls are sold out in stores from Singapore to London; a human-sized version recently fetched a whopping US$150,000 at an auction in Beijing. With all the social media buzz, it is worth asking if we are witnessing the rise of a new-age collectible, or whether Labubu is a mere fad destined to fade. Investors certainly want to know. Pop Mart International Group Ltd, the Chinese manufacturer behind this trendy toy, has rallied 178 percent
Life as we know it will probably not come to an end in Japan this weekend, but what if it does? That is the question consuming a disaster-prone country ahead of a widely spread prediction of disaster that one comic book suggests would occur tomorrow. The Future I Saw, a manga by Ryo Tatsuki about her purported ability to see the future in dreams, was first published in 1999. It would have faded into obscurity, but for the mention of a tsunami and the cover that read “Major disaster in March 2011.” Years later, when the most powerful earthquake ever
My youngest son attends a university in Taipei. Throughout the past two years, whenever I have brought him his luggage or picked him up for the end of a semester or the start of a break, I have stayed at a hotel near his campus. In doing so, I have noticed a strange phenomenon: The hotel’s TV contained an unusual number of Chinese channels, filled with accents that would make a person feel as if they are in China. It is quite exhausting. A few days ago, while staying in the hotel, I found that of the 50 available TV channels,
Chinese intimidation of Taiwan has entered a chilling new phase: bolder, more multifaceted and unconstrained by diplomatic norms. For years, Taiwan has weathered economic coercion, military threats, diplomatic isolation, political interference, espionage and disinformation, but the direct targeting of elected leaders abroad signals an alarming escalation in Beijing’s campaign of hostility. Czech military intelligence recently uncovered a plot that reads like fiction, but is all too real. Chinese diplomats and civil secret service in Prague had planned to ram the motorcade of then-vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and physically assault her during her visit to the Czech Republic in March last
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