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
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
RSS