All seven stories in a China Reports insert accompanying the local English-language China Post newspaper yesterday were stories originally published in Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-run publications, but nowhere were the sources mentioned, an omission that could violate domestic laws on product placement.
The eight-page insert, dated April 8, and which purports to be the Volume 2, No. 12 issue of the Reports, contains seven human interest stories, all of which were taken from the People’s Daily, Xinhua news agency and the China Daily in recent months. All three are owned by the CCP and well known for their pro-CCP editorial stance.
Readers informed the Taipei Times that the insert has appeared sporadically in recent months, including the past three Fridays.
All seven articles were published without a byline, date of original publication or the name of the original publication, and nowhere is the insert identified as originating from an outside source, which could lead readers to believe that the material comes from the China Post staff.
When contacted by the Taipei Times, the editorial department at the Post said they were in no position to comment on the matter since the entire insert was produced and sent to them from Hong Kong.
Asked if any China Post staff had control over content in the insert, the person contacted said: “I don’t think so.”
Other China Post staff members that were contacted seemed unaware of the insert.
Facing a storm of protest about the government’s placement of material in media late last year, the Executive Yuan on Dec. 30 proposed a series of non-binding measures to address the problem.
However, during a Cabinet meeting, Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said the GIO was not a supervisory organ for print media because the Publishing Act (出版法) was annulled in 1999.
About two weeks later, the legislature passed a binding resolution requiring the Executive Yuan to pursue legal amendments to limit the government’s use of embedded marketing and that all government policy campaigns should be clearly marked as advertisements.
An amendment to the Budget Act (預算法) was also passed, which banned embedded marketing by government agencies at all levels, as well as state-funded or state-run enterprises. However, at no time was embedded marketing by foreign governments discussed.
Government agencies are allowed to utilize paid advertising to promote policies either by publishing newspaper ads, placing supplemental sections in newspapers or commissioning electronic media to produce programs. However, they are required to have the agency’s name shown in the proper context and the material must be clearly identified as product placement.
Asked for comment yesterday, Department of Planning Director Hsu Hsiao-li (徐孝利), who oversees the GIO’s regulatory agency in charge of cross-strait affairs, said his office would ask for explanations from the China Post regarding the China Report inserts.
If necessary, the department would invite experts to a meeting to determine the content’s conformity with the Guidelines for Permitting Mainland Publications, Movies, Video, Radio and Television Programs to Enter, or be Issued, Sold, Produced, Broadcast, Exhibited, and Copied in the Taiwan Region (大陸地區出版品電影片錄影節目廣播電視節目進入台灣地區或在台灣地區發行銷售製作播映展覽觀摩許可辦法), Hsu said.
One concern of the GIO, which did not know about the insert before being approached by the Taipei Times, was whether the insert was a form of entry for Chinese print media into Taiwan, disguised in a manner that allowed it to avoid being reviewed by the Taiwanese government, Hsu said.
The guidelines stipulate that Chinese productions, including newspapers, newswire stories, magazines, books and audio books, are not allowed to enter Taiwan without government permission.
The Chinese bi-weekly magazine Duzhe is the only Chinese-produced print media allowed for sale in the Taiwanese market. Its first issue, published in traditional Chinese characters, appeared in January.
Hsu said another concern about the China Reports insert was the possibility that it served as an -advertorial promoting China, adding that to a certain extent, the stories in the China Reports insert relating to business and cultural activities in China lay in a gray area between news and product placement.
Although exchanges of stories between media are within the scope of freedom of speech, there nevertheless is a need for government to ensure the material is appropriate, Hsu said
This development comes amid a global drive by China to increase its media presence.
Late last year, a print and Web-based advertorial section called China Watch, containing articles from the China Daily, was added to the Washington Post. However, the insert identifies the source of the material as coming from the China Daily, has a byline and the masthead states that this is a paid supplement to the Washington Post.
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
WARNING: China has stepped up harassment of foreign vessels after its new regulation took effect last month, an official said, citing an incident in the Diaoyutai Islands The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday linked China’s seizure of a Taiwanese fishing vessel illegally operating in its territorial waters to Beijing’s new regulation authorizing the China Coast Guard to seize boats in waters it claims. Chinese officials boarded and then seized a Taiwanese fishing vessel operating near China’s coast close to Kinmen County late on Tuesday and took it to a Chinese port, the CGA said. The Penghu-registered squid fishing vessel Da Jin Man No. 88 (大進滿88) was boarded and seized by China Coast Guard east-northeast of Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣), 17.5 nautical miles (32.4km) from Taiwan’s restricted waters off Kinmen,
DETERRENCE: Along with US$500 million in military aid and up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees, the bill would allocate US$400 million to countering PRC influence The US House of Representatives on Friday approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 that includes US$500 million in military aid for Taiwan. The legislation, which authorizes funding for the US Department of State, US foreign operations and related programs for next year, passed 212-200 in the Republican-led House. The bill stipulates that the US would provide no less than US$500 million in foreign military financing for Taiwan to enhance deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and offer Taipei up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for the same purpose. The funding would be made available under the US’ Foreign Military
As eight basketball-playing international students appealed to the Taiwanese basketball industry after they were excluded from the draft of an upcoming new league merging the P.League+ and the T1 League, the new league’s preparatory committee spokesperson Chang Shu-jen (張樹人) yesterday said the committee would tomorrow discuss the supplementary measures and whether the international students can join the draft. The students on Tuesday called for support on their right to play in the upcoming new league, after a merger involving the two leagues impacted their eligibility for the draft. The international players from the University Basketball Association (UBA), led by first pick prospect