The government is to introduce legislation to prevent Chinese media outlets from exploiting a legal loophole to illegally operate over-the-top (OTT) services in Taiwan, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said yesterday, amid reports that China Central Television (CCTV) could soon begin services in the nation.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Wednesday reported that CCTV plans to follow the model of Chinese OTT service providers iQiyi (愛奇藝) and Tencent Video (騰訊視頻), and begin operations in Taiwan.
The companies have been able to skirt a rule banning Chinese OTT service providers from operating in Taiwan without permission by contracting local distributors and platform providers, the Liberty Times said.
Photo courtesy of a reader
Asked to comment on the report, Kolas described the model as a “breach of democracy,” whose existence the government would not sit back and tolerate.
The government would introduce new legislation or amendments to existing laws to keep Chinese OTT service providers from exploiting the loophole, Kolas said, adding that legislative efforts were set in motion last year.
Reiterating that the government prohibits any foreign OTT service provider from operating in the nation without its permission, she said it is regrettable that some Chinese companies have circumvented the rule by enlisting local partners.
As some people have paid for membership of the services, any forthcoming changes would guarantee that their rights are protected, she added.
After iQiyi’s application to launch local operations was rejected by the National Communications Commission in 2016, it has been operating under a partnership with its local distributor, OTT (歐銻銻).
Pan-green camp lawmakers have since expressed concerns that programs offered on the Web site could contain content aimed at pushing Beijing’s “united front” agenda.
The commission yesterday said that the government is drafting an act to govern OTT content, adding that it could be used to handle issues related to Chinese operators.
The bill stipulates that issues related to the Chinese firms — such as their use of partners to circumvent local laws to broadcast OTT content in Taiwan — would be addressed through the collective efforts of various government agencies, it said.
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) stipulates that Chinese companies can only invest in certain categories of goods and services, which do not include OTT broadcasts, it added.
Regarding reports that Chinese OTT providers have been promoting their services and garnering members through their local agents, the commission said that it is handling the matter to ensure that operators comply with the nation’s laws.
The Cabinet on Sept. 26 last year decided that OTT services would be jointly overseen by the commission, the Ministry of Culture and the Mainland Affairs Council, it said.
The commission oversees OTT broadcasts from abroad, but Chinese content — including movies, prerecorded shows, and radio and TV programs — would first be subject to regulation by the ministry and the council, it added.
The commission said that it would soon unveil the bill after discussions with all other relevant government agencies.
This story has been amended since it was first published.
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS