TELEVISION
NCC to mediate dispute
The National Communications Commission (NCC) on Monday said that it would mediate a dispute over copyright fees between cable TV provider Homeplus Digital Co and Yong Xin Multimedia Co, the Taiwanese agent for several well-known foreign channels. Yong Xin has notified Homeplus of its plan to cancel 12 channels, including HBO, Animax, Cinemax, CNN and Cartoon Network, on Friday next week, after negotiations on copyright fees with the cable TV operator hit a deadlock. The commission has received a request for mediation from Homeplus and would arrange a meeting as soon as possible between the two parties with the NCC also present, an agency official said. During the mediation period, signal transmission cannot be cut off, the official said. According to past practice, the two companies can continue negotiating if the mediation attempt fails, the official said. If negotiations ultimately fail, Yong Xin might have to remove the 12 channels and Homeplus would need to apply to adjust its channel lineup, the officials said. Homeplus has about 1.005 million subscribers, accounting for 22.48 percent of the market, NCC data for the first quarter of this year showed.
SOCIETY
Tsai travel report denied
Former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) office on Sunday denied a Chinese-language media report that she is planning to visit Japan. The China Times report was “inaccurate,” Tsai Shu-ching (蔡舒景), a spokesperson for Tsai Ing-wen, said in a statement. “There is currently no such plan as reported by the media outlet,” the statement said. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it has not engaged in negotiations with its Japanese counterpart to arrange a potential trip to Japan by Tsai Ing-wen. Citing unnamed sources, the China Times reported that think tanks in the US, Europe and Japan have extended invitations to Tsai since she left office on May 20. With Japan being nearest to Taiwan of the possible destinations, it is most likely she would visit there first, it said. A Japan visit could be arranged by applying for a visa to visit relatives, following a precedent set by former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), who in 2001 traveled to Japan for the first time since leaving office in 2000, the newspaper reported.
CULTURE
Olympics event planned
The Taiwan Pavilion at the Cultural Olympiad in Paris is to host a “Win Together Glory Night” on Friday, featuring drag queen Nymphia Wind and other performers. The Ministry of Culture in a news release yesterday said that it had organized the event to pay tribute to the Olympic athletes who took the world stage to pursue the ultimate in physical fitness. The Cultural Olympiad is a multidisciplinary artistic and cultural program running alongside the Summer Games. The Taiwan Pavilion at Parc de la Villette is open to the public until Saturday from 5pm to 10pm. Other performers include DJ Elvis Lin (林貓王), TAI Body Theatre, DJ Swallow (妖嬌) and Les Petites Choses Production at the “Win Together Glory Night,” which is on the eve of the Cultural Olympiad’s conclusion. The event’s name was chosen to echo the theme of “Win Together” embodied by the Taiwan Pavilion, the ministry said. The Taiwan Pavilion’s daily program has been so attractive that long lines have formed outside before the venue opens at 5pm daily, it said.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS