The offices of the paparazzi magazine Next (
The magazine said that the incident would not affect the publication of its latest issue. The weekly usually hits newsstands late every Wednesday night.
PHOTO: LIAO RAY-SHANG, TAIPEI TIMES N
Three unmasked men burst into the magazine's administrative office wielding baseball bats, destroyed equipment including glass doors and computers, and left within five minutes.
The magazine's executive editor, Pei Wei (
Pei, however, insisted that the magazine's style of reporting would not be changed.
"We have reported every story with balance and objectivity. If individuals don't like our stance, there's nothing we can do about it," Pei said.
Chinese-language media estimated the damage caused by yesterday's attack at about NT$100,000, but staff at the magazine said that they hadn't yet calculated the losses. The office was shut down after the incident.
One Next employee, who wished to remain anonymous, said that high-ranking managers from the magazine's Hong Kong office were planning to visit Taiwan to evaluate the insurance compensation today.
The magazine's paparazzi style has stoked controversy around Taiwan since the publication was launched here.
Two young TV show hostesses, A-Ya (阿雅), Hsiao-S (小S) and popular singer Fan Hsiao-hsuan (范曉萱) filed suits against the magazine last week for violating their privacy.
The magazine's 11th edition, published on Aug. 9, had reported that the three had attended a drug and sex orgy in Peitou.
Lin Chin-lung (
The Presidential Office is suing four employees of the magazine who pretended to be photographers' assistants in an attempt to enter the presidential residence to cover the engagement party of President Chen Shui-bian's (
The first issue of Next magazine was published at the end of May. The magazine's owner, Jimmy Lai (
Each issue of the magazine has attracted coverage from most of Taiwan's media and prompted discussion in academic circles about the paparazzi-style media culture it has brought to Taiwan.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
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