Nearly 60 percent of Taiwanese support a full government ban on 4G telecommunication service operators using base stations made by Chinese manufacturers over concerns about national security, a survey by the Digital Convergence Development Association showed yesterday.
The survey also found that about 70 percent of respondents are concerned about national security risks from 4G operators using Chinese telecom facilities, and 69 percent are worried that Beijing could obtain information on Taiwan’s telecom infrastructure through Taiwanese businesspeople in China, or other methods.
Overall, the survey showed that about 58 percent of those polled have no confidence in the government’s ability to fend off cyberattacks from China or other countries.
Image taken from the Youth Alliance Against Media Monsters’ Facebook page
The figure was 7.1 percentage points higher than that recorded in the survey that the association conducted in December last year.
The public’s attitude toward local telecom operators using China-made 4G facilities was about the same as the last survey, with the difference being less than 2 percentage points.
The issue of whether telecom carriers should be allowed to use telecom facilities made in China came to the public’s attention earlier this year after Hon Hai Group (鴻海集團) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) threatened to withdraw the group’s investment in Taiwan, stop paying taxes and move overseas if the Taiwanese government failed to provide a reasonable explanation why he could not use base stations produced by Chinese company Huawei Technologies (華為).
The survey was also designed to identify if there had been any shift in attitude toward cable television, telecom services and the media in general.
Among the poll’s significant findings, about 74 percent of respondents said that public opinion in Taiwan was monopolized by certain media groups, up 13.3 points from the previous survey.
While 45 percent said they oppose any form of government funding in television, 44.5 percent said they support government funding to raise programming quality.
Commenting on the findings, Weber Lai (賴祥蔚), a professor at National Taiwan University of the Arts’ radio and television department, said he was horrified at the dramatic increase in the way people perceive the monopolization of public opinion in Taiwan.
The result “is a bit different from what I have observed,” Lai said.
“I suggest that the survey next time ask respondents who they think is monopolizing public opinion. It may be that they mean an oligopoly, not a monopoly,” Lai said.
Christy Chiang (江雅綺), an assistant professor at National Taipei University of Technology, said that the survey showed that more people support restricted government funding to improve the quality of programming, which is very different from 10 years ago.
While 4G operators are seeking more freedom in choosing whatever facilities they see fit, they are simultaneously restricted by public concern for information security, she said.
“Instead of worrying that the government will monopolize public opinion, they now care more that the same thing could be done through any private group,” she said.
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
‘DANGEROUS GAME’: Legislative Yuan budget cuts have already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Elbridge Colby said Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP. Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team,
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
RSS