Nearly 60 percent of Taiwanese support a full government ban on 4G telecommunication service operators using base stations made by Chinese manufacturers over concerns about national security, a survey by the Digital Convergence Development Association showed yesterday.
The survey also found that about 70 percent of respondents are concerned about national security risks from 4G operators using Chinese telecom facilities, and 69 percent are worried that Beijing could obtain information on Taiwan’s telecom infrastructure through Taiwanese businesspeople in China, or other methods.
Overall, the survey showed that about 58 percent of those polled have no confidence in the government’s ability to fend off cyberattacks from China or other countries.
Image taken from the Youth Alliance Against Media Monsters’ Facebook page
The figure was 7.1 percentage points higher than that recorded in the survey that the association conducted in December last year.
The public’s attitude toward local telecom operators using China-made 4G facilities was about the same as the last survey, with the difference being less than 2 percentage points.
The issue of whether telecom carriers should be allowed to use telecom facilities made in China came to the public’s attention earlier this year after Hon Hai Group (鴻海集團) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) threatened to withdraw the group’s investment in Taiwan, stop paying taxes and move overseas if the Taiwanese government failed to provide a reasonable explanation why he could not use base stations produced by Chinese company Huawei Technologies (華為).
The survey was also designed to identify if there had been any shift in attitude toward cable television, telecom services and the media in general.
Among the poll’s significant findings, about 74 percent of respondents said that public opinion in Taiwan was monopolized by certain media groups, up 13.3 points from the previous survey.
While 45 percent said they oppose any form of government funding in television, 44.5 percent said they support government funding to raise programming quality.
Commenting on the findings, Weber Lai (賴祥蔚), a professor at National Taiwan University of the Arts’ radio and television department, said he was horrified at the dramatic increase in the way people perceive the monopolization of public opinion in Taiwan.
The result “is a bit different from what I have observed,” Lai said.
“I suggest that the survey next time ask respondents who they think is monopolizing public opinion. It may be that they mean an oligopoly, not a monopoly,” Lai said.
Christy Chiang (江雅綺), an assistant professor at National Taipei University of Technology, said that the survey showed that more people support restricted government funding to improve the quality of programming, which is very different from 10 years ago.
While 4G operators are seeking more freedom in choosing whatever facilities they see fit, they are simultaneously restricted by public concern for information security, she said.
“Instead of worrying that the government will monopolize public opinion, they now care more that the same thing could be done through any private group,” she said.
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
CHINA’s BULLYING: The former British prime minister said that he believes ‘Taiwan can and will’ protect its freedom and democracy, as its people are lovers of liberty Former British prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday said Western nations should have the courage to stand with and deepen their economic partnerships with Taiwan in the face of China’s intensified pressure. He made the remarks at the ninth Ketagalan Forum: 2025 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prospect Foundation in Taipei. Johnson, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time, said he had seen Taiwan’s coastline on a screen on his indoor bicycle, but wanted to learn more about the nation, including its artificial intelligence (AI) development, the key technology of the 21st century. Calling himself an
South Korea yesterday said that it was removing loudspeakers used to blare K-pop and news reports to North Korea, as the new administration in Seoul tries to ease tensions with its bellicose neighbor. The nations, still technically at war, had already halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarized zone, Seoul’s military said in June after the election of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. It said in June that Pyongyang stopped transmitting bizarre, unsettling noises along the border that had become a major nuisance for South Korean residents, a day after South Korea’s loudspeakers fell silent. “Starting today, the military has begun removing the loudspeakers,”
RSS