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.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
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Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
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