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`Business Weekly' apologizes over donation scandal

The Chinese-language Business Weekly issued a public apology yesterday for a report on an Aboriginal family that outraged the family and raised doubts about the fate of donations managed by the publication for the struggling family.

During a press conference yesterday, Wenny Wang (王文靜), vice president and editor-in-chief at Business Weekly, said the publisher would donate NT$2 million (US$61,000) to allay public concerns.

In one of its documentaries as well as in its latest issue, Business Weekly reported on the life of the Aboriginal family, which ekes out a living on a peach farm in Hsinchu's mountainous area.

The report -- which focused on a grandmother nicknamed Peach Old Lady, who takes care of her seven grandchildren, aged five to 15 -- received a strong response from the public, with several donations sent to the publisher soon afterwards.

But independent Legislator May Chin (高金素梅) recently accused Business Weekly of misappropriating the donations, the Chinese-language China Times reported yesterday.

Chin said that the family only received a small portion of the money and accused the weekly of exploiting the family to generate publicity for itself.

In response, Business Weekly said that a local charity group which helps people who have attempted to commit suicide and their families had opened a special account for the family.

The company apologized for misleading the public, saying that the publisher's NT$2 million donation was aimed at funding the family.
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