Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) yesterday said the showing of a trailer for Chinese variety show Trust in China (信中國) in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) on Tuesday broke the law.
The video clip, which was played on jumbo-sized displays in Taipei, Beijing, Hong Kong and New York City’s Times Square, features scores of celebrities reading letters by Chinese Communist Party members.
At a news conference after a Cabinet meeting, Cheng said that the broadcaster should have obtained approval from the Ministry of Culture and the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) before airing the trailer, citing the Regulations for Advertising Goods, Labor and General Services of the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area (大陸地區物品勞務服務在臺灣地區從事廣告活動管理辦法).
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“We have no record of ever having evaluated or approved the program,” she said.
The council is the agency charged with enforcing the regulations and the ministry would assist it in any legal action that is to follow, she added.
Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said the advertisement had not been unauthorized and that the Cabinet would ask the council to deal with it according to the law.
Asked for comment, MAC Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said the council had identified the advertising agency that aired the trailer, stopped the broadcasts and opened an inquiry.
Broadcasting or publishing political propaganda for the Chinese Communist Party is forbidden under Article 24 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), Chiu said.
The advertising agency failed to apply for a permit to air the trailer, he added.
In related news, at an event to mark the opening of a park, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said it is impossible for the nation to ban all Chinese advertisements, adding that such activity should be allowed on the principle of “equality and respect.”
“By equality, I mean that if [China] wants to publish advertisements here, we [Taiwan] should also be allowed to publish advertisements in [China],” Ko said, adding that he “should look into it.”
Additional reporting by Shen Pei-yao
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