Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) yesterday said the showing of a trailer for Chinese variety show Trust in China (信中國) in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) on Tuesday broke the law.
The video clip, which was played on jumbo-sized displays in Taipei, Beijing, Hong Kong and New York City’s Times Square, features scores of celebrities reading letters by Chinese Communist Party members.
At a news conference after a Cabinet meeting, Cheng said that the broadcaster should have obtained approval from the Ministry of Culture and the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) before airing the trailer, citing the Regulations for Advertising Goods, Labor and General Services of the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area (大陸地區物品勞務服務在臺灣地區從事廣告活動管理辦法).
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“We have no record of ever having evaluated or approved the program,” she said.
The council is the agency charged with enforcing the regulations and the ministry would assist it in any legal action that is to follow, she added.
Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said the advertisement had not been unauthorized and that the Cabinet would ask the council to deal with it according to the law.
Asked for comment, MAC Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said the council had identified the advertising agency that aired the trailer, stopped the broadcasts and opened an inquiry.
Broadcasting or publishing political propaganda for the Chinese Communist Party is forbidden under Article 24 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), Chiu said.
The advertising agency failed to apply for a permit to air the trailer, he added.
In related news, at an event to mark the opening of a park, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said it is impossible for the nation to ban all Chinese advertisements, adding that such activity should be allowed on the principle of “equality and respect.”
“By equality, I mean that if [China] wants to publish advertisements here, we [Taiwan] should also be allowed to publish advertisements in [China],” Ko said, adding that he “should look into it.”
Additional reporting by Shen Pei-yao
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS