Video-on-demand (VOD) provider Bilibili (嗶哩嗶哩) has become the second Chinese service to draw the attention of security officials after it was found to be renting server space in Taiwan.
The Institute of National Defense and Security Research in April confirmed its findings that China’s largest VOD provider, iQiyi (愛奇藝), which operates in Taiwan, is used by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office as part of Beijing’s “united front” efforts.
Information security consultant Abbygail Wu (吳伊婷) yesterday confirmed that Bilibili rents space on servers in Taiwan owned by Chief Telecom (是方電訊), a subsidiary of Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信).
The National Communications Commission (NCC) is aware of the issue and would require Chief Telecom to cease renting server space to Bilibili, a source said.
Wu said she was motivated to investigate other Chinese VOD services after suspicions about iQiyi arose.
After tracing IP addresses to which Bilibili users in Taiwan connected, she found that they belonged to Chief Telecom, she said, adding that the company likely wanted to use local servers to provide fast connections for Taiwanese users.
Chinese VOD services abound in Taiwan, even though they are not officially allowed to operate in the nation, she said.
The operation of such services contravenes provisions in 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) and is a national security concern, she said.
The Executive Yuan said it is looking into which government agencies should be implicated in the case.
The Mainland Affairs Council said that the issue was a contravention of the act, as Article 40-1 states that Chinese companies may not engage in business activity in Taiwan without the permission of relevant authorities, and Article 34 prohibits the Chinese Communist Party from disseminating political propaganda in Taiwan.
Chief Telecom president Liu Yao-yuan (劉耀元) said that Bilibili is only one of the firm’s content distribution network clients and that the two companies have no direct relationship.
NCC acting spokesperson Hsiao Chi-hung (蕭祈宏) said that the law prohibits Taiwanese telecoms from hosting or distributing content that is deemed a national security threat or breaks any laws.
Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua and Huang Pei-chun
EIGHT-YEAR WINDOW: Avril Haines said that Beijing is closely watching the Russian invasion of Ukraine, although Moscow’s actions have not sped up Beijing’s timeline The threat posed by China to Taiwan until 2030 is “critical,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said on Tuesday while testifying on worldwide threats at a hearing of the US Senate Committee on Armed Services. “I think it’s fair to say that it’s critical, or acute,” Haines said when asked by US Senator Josh Hawley if she viewed the threat facing Taiwan to be acute from now until 2030. “It’s our view that they [China] are working hard to effectively put themselves into a position in which their military is capable of taking Taiwan over our intervention,” she said, without
NO CONSENSUS YET: Local governments and the CECC have agreed to change the ‘3+4’ self-isolation policy, but are still mulling what to replace it with The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) and local governments have agreed to ease restrictions on close contacts of COVID-19 cases, although the details are still being discussed, the center said yesterday. The discussions follow Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on Saturday approving a proposal to shorten the “3+4” policy — three days of home isolation followed by four days of self-disease prevention — for close contacts who have received booster doses. “We did not reach a consensus on how to revise the current restrictions, but we all agreed that the administrative burden must be reduced and the intensity of restrictions must be eased,
OPPOSING CHINESE ‘HOSTILITY’: The bill orders the state secretary to create a plan to regain observer status for Taiwan, saying Taipei is a model contributor to world health US President Joe Biden on Friday signed a bill into law to help Taiwan regain observer status at the World Health Assembly (WHA), demonstrating Washington’s support for Taiwan’s international participation. Friday was the deadline for Biden to sign the bill (S.812), which directs “the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to regain observer status for Taiwan in the World Health Organization (WHO), and for other purposes.” The 75th WHA, the decisionmaking body of the WHO, is scheduled to meet in Geneva, Switzerland, from Sunday next week to May 28. The bill, introduced by US Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the US Senate
‘DAMOCLES SWORD’: An Italian missionary said the arrest of cardinal Zen is a blow for the church in Hong Kong, China and the world, signaling great danger ahead China yesterday defended the arrest of a 90-year-old Catholic cardinal under Hong Kong’s National Security Law, a move that triggered international outrage and deepened concerns over Beijing’s crackdown on freedoms in the territory. Retired cardinal Joseph Zen (陳日君), one of the most senior Catholic clerics in Asia, was among a group of veteran democracy advocates arrested on Wednesday for “colluding with foreign forces.” Pop singer Denise Ho (何韻詩), veteran barrister Margaret Ng (吳靄儀) and cultural studies academic Hui Po-keung (許寶強) were also arrested, the latter as he attempted to fly to Europe to take up an academic post. Cyd Ho (何秀蘭), a democracy
RSS