Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday accused members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of directing KMT-led media to run online campaigns to discredit the government.
A DPP investigation has found that KMT officials hold executive or board-level roles at Olorin Media (歐絡因創意) and Fangho Media (方和傳媒), DPP spokeswoman Michelle Lin (林楚茵) told a news conference at party headquarters in Taipei, accusing the media of disseminating content maligning the government’s egg import policy and agriculture programs.
Both companies promoted the KMT in their past election campaigns and they are connected to Lin Yu-hong (林裕紘) and Hsu Che-pin (許哲賓), principal figures in the “Lin Bay Hao You” (Lin Bay 好油) incident, Lin said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Public prosecutors are investigating the case, after Lin Yu-hong shared posts alleging people complained of rotten eggs and he had received death threats, which he later admitted to asking Hsu, who worked for the KMT policy committee, to fabricate.
DPP Legislator Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) said that Lin Hong-yu has worked with KMT Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Li-shan (張麗善) for many years and her family had control over the county government along with most of agriculture product distribution and retailing channels of central and southern Taiwan.
Hsu previously worked as the Yunlin County Goverment’s social media editor, under then-department of information head Chou Po-yin (周柏吟), a former Fangho Media chairman, Michelle Lin said.
She also presented a document and said that Hsu had taken contract work with Olorin Media, a company founded by younger party members and second-generation KMT officials, along with a list of KMT-related executives and board members.
As “Lin Bay Hao You” incident suspects were detained, Olorin Media shut down its Web site, closed its Taipei office’s doors and rejected media inquiries, Nantou County Councilor Tsai Ming-hsuan (蔡銘軒) said.
KMT officials said Hsu was let go and the public should wait for the judicial investigation’s outcome, while adding that the two companies are commercial entities and the party does not have direct control over them.
KMT Policy Committee Head William Tseng (曾銘宗) has offered an apology to the public, but said he was not aware of case details and he had no right to ask individual staff members about their involvement in other activities.
‘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