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.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
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