Thousands of journalists, students, academics and social activists yesterday took to the streets in Taipei to protest against monopolization of the media and demanded that the National Communications Commission (NCC) help break monopolization of the media.
“No to monopolization of the media, protect professionalism in media,” thousands chanted as they marched from Want Want China Times Group (旺旺中時集團) headquarters to the NCC headquarters in Taipei.
Many of the demonstrators held home-made signs and placards with slogans against media monopolization or the Want Want China Times Group, such as “You’re big, but I’m not scared,” “I would like my news without additives” and “Non-professional media operators should go back to making biscuits.”
Photo: CNA
One woman taking part in the march wore a mask that looked like two hands covering her eyes and held a sign reading: “Media monopoly blinds my eyes.”
“We are gathered here because we are upset that [Want Want China Times Media Group chairman] Tsai Eng-ming (蔡衍明) used media outlets under the group as his own personal tool to attack his enemies. We’re also worried that when the group gets its hands on the largest cable TV service provider, it will be a disaster for the country,” Association of Taiwan Journalists (ATJ) chairwoman Chen Hsiao-yi (陳曉宜) told the crowd.
The ATJ, along with the Campaign for Media Reform, Taiwan Media Watch, the Alliance against Media Monsters and the Youth Alliance against Media the demonstration.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
“We are here to demand our freedoms of expression and of media,” Chen said. “We call on Tsai to give up his merger plan with China Network Systems (CNS, 中嘉網路).”
Chen was referring to a Want Want plan to acquire some of the cable TV services owned by CNS, the largest cable TV service provider in the country, that was conditionally approved by the NCC last month.
The merger plan has worried many because the Want Want China Times Group already owns several media outlets, including newspapers, a magazine, TV channels and a radio station. Opponents worry that if Want Want buys CNS’ cable TV services, it may be able to interfere with other media outlets, with the power to decide which channels may be broadcast via cable.
The issue did not attract too much public attention until last month, when all media outlets under the group launched a series of reports accusing the Academia Sinica research fellow — who is a strong opponent to the merger case — of paying students to join anti-merger rallies, which was later proved to be false.
When one National Tsinghua University student, Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷), questioned Want Want’s motives, he also became a target of criticism by media outlets under the group.
“CtiTV [of the Want Want China Times Media Group] aired news reports criticizing me 24 hours a day during that time, and each news report could take as long as 15 minutes of air time,” Chen Wei-ting said. “This shows how horrible things could get when a media group has a monopoly.”
Some foreign students also joined the march.
Chong Yee-shan (張玉珊), from Malaysia, said she joined because media monopoly is also a serious problem in her own country, especially in Chinese-language media outlets.
Several human rights groups, such as the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, the Deng Liberty Foundation, Taiwan Students for a Free Tibet, Taiwan Labor Front (TLF) and the Humanistic Education Foundation, participated.
“The media issue is important for social groups, especially those who are working for the rights of the disadvantaged in our society,” TLF secretary-general Son Yu-lian (孫友聯) said. “When all media outlets are in hands of big corporations, disadvantaged people will be silenced.”
Journalism students were among the most predominant groups in the march.
“I want to become a journalist when I finish school, so I am concerned about the work conditions for journalists,” said Kuo Chih-jung (郭芝榕), a student at National Taiwan University’s Graduate Institute of Journalism. “I would like to call on the government to help maintain the independence of media outlets.”
Another journalism student surnamed Lee (李) said she was concerned about how the awareness and energy of the demonstration could be maintained, so that real reform of the media could succeed.
The parade ended in front of the NCC headquarters, as the crowd called on the institution to make or revise laws to help maintain the independence of media outlets, which an NCC official who accepted a petition from ATJ head Chen Hsia-yi promised to help out.
In response, Want Want China Times Group published a full-page advertisement in the China Times yesterday asking: “Who is big? Who is scared?”
“Our news reporting has been always professional and can be scrutinized. We welcome all criticism,” the advert said.
Additional reporting by CNA
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
RSS