The National Communications Commission (NCC) on Thursday approved the Broadcasting Corp of China’s (BCC) transfer of ownership to Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康), after his wife Liang Lei (梁蕾) reduced her shareholding in UFO Network, another radio station.
To prevent a monopoly, the NCC ruled in June last year that Liang — who is also a UFO Network board director — must reduce her shareholding in UFO Network to below 10 percent within six months, among other requirements.
Jaw and his wife did not meet the requirements before the deadline and in October, Jaw resigned as chairman of the BCC, citing “relentless persecution” by the government.
The NCC met again to review the transfer of ownership to Jaw in February, two months after the six-month period had ended.
The NCC did not reach a decision on whether to reject the ownership change, but rather postponed the deadline for Jaw and his wife to meet the requirements by 15 work days.
On March 19, two days before the deadline, Jaw notified the NCC that Liang had sold 24 percent of her stake in UFO, leaving her with a 9.99 percent stake in the company.
The NCC said that Liang sold her shares to three individuals not affiliated with any political party, government agency or the military.
It declined to disclose the names of the three individuals or the price at which the shares were sold.
Some BCC employees questioned the NCC’s neutrality, to which NCC Chairman Su Yeong-chin (蘇永欽) responded that the commission was being discreet in handling the issue.
Apart from selling UFO shares, Jaw agreed to eight additional requirements set by the NCC, including raising the percentage of self-produced BCC programs and prohibiting foreign capital in the company.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-owned Central Investment Co (中央投資公司) sold BCC, Central Motion Picture Co and China Television Co to China Times Group subsidiary Jungli Investment Co (榮麗投資公司) in 2005 for NT$9.3 billion (US$280.7 million).
The transaction was facilitated by Hua Hsia, an investment firm owned by the KMT.
The deal was later canceled because the China Times Group was unable to pay the amount in full.
Jaw later purchased the company from Hua Hsia. Jaw never said how much he paid for the company.
Jaw’s resignation announcement came after the NCC approved the sale of BCC to four subsidiaries. The government believes the four subsidiaries were actually owned by Jaw.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
RSS