Former Taipei deputy mayor King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) will take up the position of chief executive officer of Next Media’s (壹傳媒集團) new TV station from Monday and promised objective reporting on the government despite being a close aide to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Both of the Hong Kong publisher’s local publications, the Chinese-language Apple Daily and Next Magazine, published exclusive interviews with King yesterday in which he confirmed he would take the job.
King said the station would report objectively on the Ma administration.
King said he had informed Ma about his new position and that he would continue to advise the Ma administration in private.
King visited Next Media’s headquarters yesterday afternoon but did not comment on his new position. In the interviews published yesterday, King reiterated his promise not to take a formal post with the Ma administration and said he expected the TV station to have an impact on the nation’s political culture.
“I like challenges and being able to create new situations. Returning to politics would only reinforce the stereotypes against me. It’s not fair to Mr Ma and it’s not fair to me,” the Apple Daily quoted King as saying.
When asked whether the TV station would favor Ma and his administration, King said he would not interfere with the selection of news and expected his news team to be free of political leanings.
King, 53, has been one of Ma’s top aides for several years.
He served as commissioner of Taipei City’s Information Department and as Taipei deputy mayor during Ma’s stint as Taipei mayor.
King also played a key role in Ma’s campaigns for Taipei mayor in 1998 and 2002, KMT chairman in 2005 and president last year.
King said he accepted the invitation of Next Media founder Jimmy Lai (黎智英) to serve as CEO because he and Lai shared similar values and political stances and both hoped to establish a TV station with diverse coverage and credibility.
After Ma’s victory in the presidential election last March, King said he would not take a position in Ma’s administration. He went to Hong Kong last summer, where he took up a six-month teaching position as a visiting professor at a Hong Kong university.
Lai has expanded his media empire in Taiwan since 2003, launching Taiwanese editions of the weekly Next Magazine and the Apple Daily newspaper.
The two publications have drawn criticism from the National Communications Commission and the public over a muckraking style and graphic photographs.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) yesterday said the president understood and respected King’s decision.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) urged the public to respect King’s career plans. Wu said no one could question King’s expertise in media studies simply because of his relationship with Ma.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday it was inappropriate for the firm to choose someone closely aligned with the president to head its TV station.
“King is a core aide to Ma. King’s political influence is undeniable. [Putting] King in charge of a TV station would mean a return of politics to the media field,” DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said, adding that Ma and King owed the public an explanation.
In response to reporters’ questions on whether King would act as an “underground” Government Information Office minister, DPP Legislator Chen Chi-yu (陳啟昱) said “he has always been [in the Ma government].”
The NCC said yesterday it had yet to receive Next Media’s application to launch a TV channel.
It said any new channel would be subject to the Satellite Radio and Television Act (衛星廣播電視法).
NCC spokesperson Lee Ta-sung (李大嵩) said once King’s appointment is finalized and formally listed on the operational plans for the TV channel, the commission will check whether King holds any positions in a political party.
Article 9 of the Act stipulates elected officials and government or political party workers may not found a satellite radio or TV channel or take a position as board member, executive or manager.
Additional reporting by Rich Chan, Shelley Shan,
FLORA WANG AND AGENCIES
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College