The Central News Agency (CNA) yesterday apologized for a report on the Lafayette frigate scandal in which it mistakenly alleged that PFP Chairman James Soong received US$400 million in kickbacks.
The partially state-owned agency emphasized that the mistake was a genuine translation and editing error and had not been politically motived.
"We are sorry for the mistake. It was our Paris correspondent's translation error. We didn't change his original script at all, which shows that there was no political motive behind it," CNA president Hu Yuan-hui (
He made the comment after PFP lawmakers threatened to sue the agency for defamation.
CNA Chairman Su Tzen-ping (
"We are sorry for our mistake on translation, but their [PFP] accusation of political motives conflict with the truth," Su said.
The GIO also issued a statement yesterday saying that it does not get involved in the agency's news coverage, even though it is responsible for allocating the CNA's portion of annual government funding.
"To respect the freedom of the press, the GIO has never been part of any editorial policies or reporting contents," the statement said.
Both Su and Hu said that they would review the agency's editorial systems and rectify any flaws.
"We would review our reporters' professional abilities as well as the editorial desk's function," Su said.
According to a senior reporter with the agency -- who wished to remain anonymous -- one of its main problems is the lack of a mechanism to examine and approve stories.
"A mistake made by two members of staff [a translator and an editor] almost destroyed this agency," the reporter said.
The Soong story is the second time in three months that CNA has had to apologize for factual errors in its stories.
The agency issued an apology in December to independent candidate Chang Po-ya (
CNA discovered the mistake 20 minutes after the story was filed and immediately withdrew it.
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