More than 1,000 academics and workers in the cultural sector signed a petition launched by communication academics to protest against the cross-strait service trade agreement, which would allow Chinese investment in the nation’s printing and advertising industries.
The petition has garnered more than a thousand signatures within two days of its launch, with National Taiwan University’s Graduate Institute of Journalism director Hung Chen-ling (洪貞玲), National Chengchi University’s Department of Journalism chair Lin Yuan-huei (林元輝), National Taiwan Normal University’s Graduate Institute of Mass Communication director Kelly Hu (胡綺珍), National Chengchi University’s Department of Radio & Television chair Hsu Chiung-wen (許瓊文), Shih Hsin University’s Department of Journalism chair Hu Guang-shiash (胡光夏) and many professors from various universities’ communication-related departments among the petition’s initiators.
“As everybody knows, the media is directly and indirectly affected by the advertising industry, and freedom of speech is closely related to the publishing, printing, releasing and retailing industries,” Hung said at the press conference yesterday.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
It is also common sense that the signing of a free-trade agreement should not pose risks to national security, she added.
“As cross-strait exchanges have become more frequent, a fact needs to be kept in mind: Taiwan and China are still to an extent adversaries, hostile to each other and therefore exchanges between the two can pose security risks,” the petition said.
“As China continues to be a (post-)authoritarian country that employs strict censorship and limits freedom of expression, a service trade pact that liberalizes Chinese investment in publishing-related industries without undertaking comprehensive assessments on the impact on Taiwan’s related industries and freedom of speech would detrimentally threaten Taiwan’s vibrant, plural, democratic and free environment,” it said.
One of the petition’s initiators is former Presidential Office national policy adviser Rex How (郝明義), who is also a publisher.
At the press conference, How criticized Minister of Culture Lung Ying-tai’s (龍應台) recent remarks about the pact not affecting the publishing industry because Chinese investment is “only allowed in the printing industry.”
“The relationship between printing, releasing, retailing and publishing as upstream and downstream industries can be paralleled to shoulders, arms, wrists and hands. Can you insist that your hands are not touched when your shoulders, arms and wrists have all been given away?” How asked.
Hu Yuan-hui (胡元輝), an associate professor at National Chung Cheng University’s Department of Communication, described the service trade pact as a “Faustian bargain,” saying that China’s influence on publishing-related industries was not aimed at economic gains, but at permeating every corner of the country with Chinese information.
Laurent Shen (沈志儒), creative director of Moulin-Orange (橘子磨坊), a company operating in the advertising industry, said that “Taiwan is not free anymore,” adding that in the signature collection campaign in support of the Sunflower movement within the industry, many working in the field were “only willing to support in private due pressure from you-know-what.”
He said Taiwan’s advertising industry is not afraid of international competition, but of “a liberalization and competition that forces the forfeiture of free consciousness.”
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS