Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC) chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) said yesterday he would terminate his contract with Hua Hsia Investment Holding Co (華夏投資公司) over the purchase of BCC, over what he called "relentless persecution" from the government.
"I just want to run a media business, that's all. But apparently I can't beat politics," he said. "Given this, there is no need to remain entangled in this matter anymore."
Jaw said his resignation as BCC chairman and president was effective immediately. Starting tomorrow, he said he would no longer host BCC's morning show Time with Jaw Shaw-Kong.
Jaw said he had appointed a senior financial officer at BCC to temporarily take over the company's operations.
Meanwhile, his lawyer will meet Hua Hsia representatives to settle disputes resulting from the termination of his contract.
If the disputes cannot be resolved within two weeks, Jaw said he would request that a court appoint a temporary manager.
The announcement came after the National Communication Commission (NCC) in June approved the sale of BCC to four subsidiaries believed to be affiliated with Jaw. In July, however, the Executive Yuan suspended the NCC ruling.
During this time, Jaw laid off approximately 200 BCC employees and assigned some of these positions to staff he brought from former company UFO Radio.
Jaw said the Cabinet had launched a "comprehensive" investigation into the deal after suspending the NCC ruling. He said officials from the Investigation Bureau, the Financial Supervisory Committee and the National Security Bureau had looked into various accounts he and his colleagues held and used for unlawful transactions.
At the order of the Cabinet, the Ministry of Economic Affairs refused to allow BCC to change its ownership registration. The Fair Trade Commission claims that BCC holds a monopoly in the national radio industry.
Jaw said the NCC had issued official notices to these organizations while the case was being reviewed. None of these organizations had expressed doubts or objections over the legality of the deal, he said.
Jaw said the NCC had set really "stringent" conditions when it approved the sale, which he reluctantly accepted.
"Little did we know our troubles were just beginning," he said.
The NCC ruling said BCC shares had to be publicly traded.
Jaw's wife, Liang Lei (梁蕾), was also required to reduce her shareholding to less than 10 percent.
The NCC also asked BCC to give back two radio frequencies used to broadcast anti-communist propaganda.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) sold BCC to China Times Group (
China Television Co (
The transaction was facilitated by Hua Hsia, an investment firm owned by the KMT. The deal, however, was cancelled because the China Times Group was unable to pay the sum in full.
Last year, Hua Hsia decided to sell BCC to Jaw.
Jaw, however, never said how much he paid for the company.
In response, the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Commercial Department said that it could not approve the deal because BCC failed to provide the documents needed to register board member changes.
Meanwhile, the KMT-owned Central Investment Co (
"We sympathize with Jaw, but we had nothing to do with the matter. BCC will not be returned to us because that would be illegal," company chairman Steve Wong (
Wong insisted that all the deals had been legal and that it was now down to Hua Hsia and Jungli to decide how to deal with the matter.
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
RSS