Authorities should investigate whether ByteDance Taiwan is affiliated with Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動), which would show whether they are upholding 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), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
Article 73 of the act states that China-based social media software companies — which includes TikTok and its Chinese version, Douyin (抖音) — are prohibited from establishing branch offices in Taiwan, the council said on Thursday.
Tiktoktaiwan Co Ltd (昇洋國際生技), registered in 2019, on Nov. 2 changed its registered name to ByteDance Taiwan (字節跳動台灣), Ministry of Economic Affairs’ records show.
Photo: AP
The government’s lack of action contradicts its verbal commitment to reduce the influence of Chinese technology firms in Taiwan, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiu Chi-wei (邱志偉) said.
Chiu cited the example of an investigation into China-based streaming media service iQiyi (愛奇藝) that took two years before the Taiwanese representative terminated the contract.
TikTok poses a greater information and national security risk than iQiyi, Chiu said, pushing for an urgent government probe.
Taiwan Thinktank member Tung Li-wen (董立文) said the government should not allow software that poses a “great risk” to Taiwan, and phase out such software throughout Taiwan.
Tung said that enacting new legislation might require a long and complex process, but Taipei can use existing laws, such as the Consumer Protection Act (消費者保護法), or the Criminal Code, to begin controlling what content a platform delivers.
Association of Chinese Elite Leadership Secretary-General Wang Chih-sheng (王智盛) said TikTok’s security risk is well known, citing Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s lawsuit against TikTok for misleading consumers about its age-appropriateness and its protections for shielding US user data from access by the Chinese government.
The US Senate passed a bill on Wednesday banning federal employees from using TikTok on government devices, and Taiwan should implement similar measures, Wang said.
Even if Taiwan cannot duplicate every restriction the US has enacted against TikTok, Taipei should be able to use creative methods to “take the fight head-on” with the company, he said.
Such efforts would provide examples for the international community to follow, he added.
The most pressing issue to investigate is how the company managed to enter Taiwan despite regulations, Wang said.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
RSS