Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday said the government would continue monitoring the Apple Daily newspaper’s online service News-in-Motion after the paper’s management promised to introduce a ratings system for the controversial animated news feature.
Hau said his decision to get tough on the Next Media Group was aimed at making new media outlets consider rating their content.
While the central government has yet to take action, Hau yesterday urged it to “continue to take the matter seriously.”
The Chinese-language United Daily News reported yesterday that the Presidential Office had complimented the city on its swift response.
The city, however, has received a mixed response to its actions. Hau yesterday said he welcomed public scrutiny.
“I am open to criticism as all policy is subject to public scrutiny,” he said.
He said it was the appropriate course of action now that the Apple Daily had decided to classify the content, adding that it proved that the city was right.
The city will continue to monitor News-in-Motion, he said, to ensure that it conforms to the Children and Juveniles Welfare Act (兒童及青少年福利法).
Hau made the remarks while attending an annual prayer breakfast meeting in Taipei yesterday.
The Apple Daily — published by Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai (黎智英) — launched the feature last week in a trial run as the Apple Group expands from print to TV.
The service is only accessible to readers who pay a fee.
It uses animated graphics to reconstruct stories that appear in the newspaper and can also be viewed by cellphone users who scan a bar code printed in the newspaper. Some of the stories feature sexual content and violence.
The Taipei City Government fined Next Media on Wednesday and Thursday for violating the media classification regulations in the Children and Juveniles Welfare Act.
In addition to the two NT$500,000 fines, the city government asked public schools to stop subscribing to the paper and banned teenagers under 18 years old from borrowing the paper in public libraries.
Also on Friday, Minister of Education Wu Ching-chi (吳清基) said News-in-Motion had been barred from the Taiwan Academic Network (TAnet) to protect school children and youngsters from obscene and harmful content.
TAnet is the network covering all academic and educational establishments.
Wu said his ministry had also asked all county and city governments to instruct schools to advise students to stay away from the site’s “scandalous and polluted media content.”
“Any obscene or harmful information, not just News-in-Motion, will be banned from TAnet,” the minister said.
The paper hit back on Friday, its front page accusing the city government of exercising “martial law” and threatening to sue it for “trampling on the freedom of the press.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA AND STAFF WRITER
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
SAFETY FIRST: Double the number of police were deployed at the Taipei Marathon, while other cities released plans to bolster public event safety Authorities across Taiwan have stepped up security measures ahead of Christmas and New Year events, following a knife and smoke bomb attack in Taipei on Friday that left four people dead and 11 injured. In a bid to prevent potential copycat incidents, police deployments have been expanded for large gatherings, transport hubs, and other crowded public spaces, according to official statements from police and city authorities. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city has “comprehensively raised security readiness” in crowded areas, increased police deployments with armed officers, and intensified patrols during weekends and nighttime hours. For large-scale events, security checkpoints and explosives
PUBLIC SAFETY: The premier said that security would be tightened in transport hubs, while President Lai commended the public for their bravery The government is to deploy more police, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas to ensure a swift response to any threats, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after a knife attack killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei the previous day. Lai made the remarks following a briefing by the National Police Agency on the progress of the investigation, saying that the attack underscored the importance of cooperation in public security between the central and local governments. The attack unfolded in the early evening on Friday around Taipei Main Station’s M7 exit and later near the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan
REBUFFED: In response to Chinese criticism over recent arms sales, Washington urged Beijing to engage in meaningful dialogue instead of threats and intimidation Washington’s long-term commitment to Taiwan would not change, the US Department of State said yesterday, urging Beijing to stop pressuring Taiwan and engage in meaningful bilateral dialogues. The remarks came in response to a backlash from Beijing about Washington’s latest approval of arms sales to Taiwan. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement on Wednesday that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US has asked to purchase an arms package, including Tactical Mission Network Software; AH-1W helicopter spare and repair parts; M109A7 self-propelled howitzers; HIMARS long range precision strike systems; tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided missiles; Javelin
RSS