The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that its interaction with minister-without-portfolio Jacyln Tsai (蔡玉玲) — an attorney who heads a law firm that provides legal assistance to DMG Entertainment — has always been based on the law and professionalism, adding that the relationship would not affect the commission’s review of DMG’s proposed acquisition of Eastern Broadcasting Co (EBC).
The Los Angeles-based entertainment company was reported to have acquired one of Taiwan’s largest television networks, which generated an uproar earlier this week.
Lawmakers said that one of the cofounders of Dynamic Marketing Group — to which DMG Entertainment belongs — is the son of a former Chinese People’s Liberation Army leader.
They expressed concern that Dynamic Marketing Group’s ties with China would affect content presented on the network.
A story published yesterday by Chinese-language Next Magazine said that DMG Entertainment is represented by Lee, Tsai and Partners, which was founded by Tsai and her husband.
Tsai is in charge of overseeing the commission’s operations at the Cabinet level, the magazine said, which appeared to be a major conflict of interest.
Commission spokesperson Yu Hsiao-cheng (虞孝成) said that it handles every case based on the law and professionalism, adding that there was more than one buyer interested in acquiring EBC.
“For DMG Entertainment and other groups wanting to know the regulations to follow for acquiring one of the nation’s television channels, the commission is willing to explain the rules to them without any preferential treatment,” Yu said, adding that DMG Entertainment has yet to submit any application regarding the transaction.
Yu said that Tsai’s interaction with the commission is also within the parameters of the law.
He said the commission, as an independent agency, has never done anything improper, adding that the public should not be concerned about Tsai’s possible intervention in the deal.
Representative of New York-based private equity firm DE Shaw & Co also met with NCC Secretary-General Jason Ho (何吉森) to learn about the regulations governing the acquisition of media outlets.
In other commission news, officials confirmed that Taiwan Mobile has dropped out of the auction for frequency blocks in the 2,500 megahertz to 2,600 megahertz block after giving up its right to bid four times.
The nation’s second-largest telecom carrier entered the bidding for the frequencies on Tuesday last week with four other 4G carriers.
Taiwan Mobile said in a statement that the auction prices “have far exceeded its estimates,” adding that it decided to drop out after determining that it still “has sufficient frequency to meet the growth of 4G users in the next three to five years.”
As of yesterday, the total of the bidding fund in all frequency blocks had topped NT$22.72 billion (US$695.93 million), about 57 percent higher than the minimum bidding fund.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
Taiwan plans to cull as many as 120,000 invasive green iguanas this year to curb the species’ impact on local farmers, the Ministry of Agriculture said. Chiu Kuo-hao (邱國皓), a section chief in the ministry’s Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, on Sunday said that green iguanas have been recorded across southern Taiwan and as far north as Taichung. Although there is no reliable data on the species’ total population in the country, it has been estimated to be about 200,000, he said. Chiu said about 70,000 iguanas were culled last year, including about 45,000 in Pingtung County, 12,000 in Tainan, 9,900 in
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