The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus yesterday accused the Taipei City Government of suppressing press freedom by threatening the media in an effort to stop it from reporting the city's "scandals."
"While the opposition parties criticize the DPP administration for clamping down on freedom of the press, little does the public know that the Taipei City Government is the one who is actually muzzling the media," DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said.
Lai cited an article in the latest issue of Eyewitness magazine stating that Taipei Deputy Mayor King Pu-tsung (
Eyewitness is a bi-monthly magazine published by the Association of Taiwan Journalists.
King has also reportedly berated journalists for asking questions he dislikes, or trying to do in-depth investigative reporting on the city government.
Lai also enumerated 15 city government "scandals," including an alleged conspiracy of city police and car thieves in August, corruption in the city's Parking Management Office last month and recent zoning relaxation for the Yangmingshan National Park.
In addition to asking the city government to offer an explanation on those matters, Lai asked the pan-blue camp to use the same standards it applies to the DPP government to look at the city's "repression" of press freedom.
DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (
"Because of King, Ma is a saint in the eyes of Taipei citizens and because of King, all potential negative media exposure about Ma is blocked," Gao said.
Gao requested that TVBS discuss just one of the city government "scandals" on the talk show 2100 Quan Min Kai Jiang (Speaking Your Mind at 2100) to balance its coverage of the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp scandal.
King yesterday dismissed Lai's comments, and asked the DPP and the writer of the Eyewitness article to produce concrete evidence to prove their claims.
King said that the editor of the magazine had made it clear that the article's author does not represent the association's stance.
King also said that he plans to attend a panel discussion organized by the association to address the issue, and that he looks forward to exchanging views with reporters there.
King admitted that he has called up media managers to express concern over the content of some articles, but emphasized that he always "patiently communicates" with reporters before making the call.
"My theory is that if you do not agree with me, we can always get a third person to arbitrate and that person, of course, includes your editor-in-chief," he told reporters.
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
RSS