The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday reiterated its opposition to a Want Want China Times Group merger and called for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to handle the deal appropriately.
“The DPP, which has always advocated the freedom of the press and social justice, calls for the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] to express its position on the case and for Ma to handle the case with care,” DPP spokesperson Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) told a press conference.
The conditional approval of a NT$76 billion (US$2.52 billion) deal allowing Want Want China Times Group to acquire cable television service provider China Network Systems (CNS) has drawn widespread criticism over fears a media monopoly could be created.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Citing reports of international media, including the BBC, The Associate Press and the UK-based Financial Times, Wang said the deal was now in the international spotlight with various media outlets having reported on Want Want China Times Group chairman Tsai Eng-meng’s (蔡衍明) pro-China position, China’s increasing influence on Taiwanese media and the self-censorship of local media on Beijing’s rights violations and corruption.
Despite strong opposition against the deal from academics and civic groups, members of the National Communications Commission (NCC) still approved the deal with less than one week left on their terms on the commission, Wang said, adding that what was even more incredible was that Want Want Group then reneged on the details of the deal less than 24 hours after the deal was approved.
Hung Chih-kun (洪智坤), a member of the DPP’s Central Executive Committee, yesterday launched a boycott of the media conglomerate following a concerted attack by the group’s electronic and print media outlets on those who have publicly voiced opposition to the merger, including Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), a researcher at Academia Sinica.
The group’s vicious attack is no different to the kind of thing thugs would do, Hung said, adding that he was launching a boycott of politicians, writers and academics to refuse to write for the media group or to be interviewed or quoted by the its media operations.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
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