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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as