The nation’s last evening newspaper closed after publishing its final edition yesterday.
The Chinese-language United Evening News said in a statement that it decided to end publication due to the “changing habits of readers, development of digital media and the COVID-19 outbreak.”
“The decision to cease publication starting [today] was finalized this [yesterday] morning, but we had been evaluating that option over the past few years,” managing editor Wang Mao-chen (王茂臻) said.
Photo: CNA
Wang said that the newspaper’s circulation had been declining annually, as have other print media in the nation.
“However, we cannot break even anymore with the circulation we have at the moment,” he said.
It said it would offer subscribers a refund or allow them to transfer their subscription to another United Daily News Group (UDN) publication, and it would retain all of its reporters.
The front page of its final edition featured images of its 11,783 front pages published over the past 32 years and three months with the text “thank you” in Mandarin in large font.
UDN founder Wang Tiwu (王惕吾) established the newspaper on Feb. 22, 1988, shortly after the government on Jan. 1, 1988, lifted a newspaper ban.
It was the nation’s first Chinese-language paper to print in landscape orientation.
“As the only evening newspaper in the nation, the United Evening News has accomplished its purpose in the nation’s history of development. We thank our readers for their support, which has helped sustain us for more than 10,000 days,” it said.
In February, Chinese-language weekly tabloid Next Magazine folded its online publication after ending its print edition in 2018.
In addition to the United Evening News, the nation previously had two other evening newspapers: China Times Express and Independent Evening Post, founded in 1988 and 1947 respectively.
The China Times Express ended publication on Oct. 31, 2005, due to shortfalls in advertising revenue as 24-hour cable TV news rose in popularity.
It also experienced a sharp decline of subscribers following an economic slump, the rising influence of online news and the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s decision to extend trading until 1:30pm.
Its management tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a merger with United Evening News.
The Independent Evening Post distinguished itself as unaffiliated with political parties.
It ceased publication on Oct. 2, 2001, after years of financial losses and management changes.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS