Hong Kong’s Next Digital on Tuesday denied media reports that it had sold Taiwan’s Apple Daily news Web site.
The company, which is under liquidation, said in a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing that it refuted “certain media reports.”
However, its liquidators said the company has disposed of its business in Taiwan for more than NT$300 million (US$10.09 million), adding that they are investigating the reports and would “take necessary action” if any unauthorized disposal of its business has occurred.
Photo: Wu Yueh-hsiu, Taipei Times
Next Digital subsidiary Apple Daily Public Development Ltd “holds the business of Taiwan Apple Daily,” the filing said.
CONTRADICTION
The liquidators contradicted a statement the Apple Daily posted on its Web site on Wednesday last week saying that its sale and transfer to a new owner had been completed.
While the statement did not name the new owner, anonymous sources told Chinese-language media that the buyers are Singaporean entrepreneur Joseph Phua (潘杰賢) and Hong Kong businessman Kenny Wee (黃浩).
The Apple Daily’s prospective takeover has also sparked concerns that the company could be used by Chinese authorities to infiltrate Taiwan’s media landscape, prompting Taipei to vow “strict scrutiny” of any potential sale.
The Hong Kong-based print edition of the Apple Daily was forced to shut down in June last year following the arrest of several newspaper executives and journalists, and the freezing of the company’s assets.
Next Digital in May last year stopped publishing the paper’s Taiwanese print edition, but has continued operating as an online news site.
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
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