Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien yesterday threw his support behind a recent recommendation by former Straits Exchange Foundation chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) that broadcasting licenses be granted to Chinese TV news stations, saying the proposal was “wise” and “in the nation’s interest.”
Wang made the remarks at a gathering with journalists, after Chiang proposed at a forum in Taipei on Sunday that the nation allow Chinese TV stations such as China Central Television (CCTV) and Phoenix Television to broadcast locally.
Chiang said the Chinese TV stations provided better coverage of international news than Taiwanese channels.
“What can people possibly benefit from Taiwan’s chaotic media environment that is saturated with pundits and gossip? Opening our door to TV stations such as CCTV and Phoenix Television, which spare no money in producing high-quality programs, would not only be in the nation’s interest, but also help improve its media environment,” Wang said.
Wang urged the public not to turn down opportunities that favor Taiwan, adding that the nation could request China to do the same for Taiwanese news stations after it had broadcast theirs for a year.
Commenting on concerns that the opening-up could facilitate China’s annexation of Taiwan, Wang said: “Why would people of sophisticated thinking [Taiwanese] fear those with only primitive thinking [Chinese]?”
In response, former premier Yu Shyi-kun of the Democratic Progressive Party said that men who made such utterances are clearly “half-witted.”
“As heavyweights of the pan-blue camp, people like Wang and Chiang should know very well that China is a one-party totalitarian state that has no freedom and democracy. What they should speak up for are universal values, freedom, democracy and human rights, and yet they chose to take a step backwards,” Yu said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique