The makers of the Special Report series of VCDs are undeterred by the Taipei City Government's crackdown on freedom of speech, vowing at a press conference yesterday to release Part III of the series as early as today.
The city government confiscated copies the VCD after it touched a nerve by mocking Mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUI, TAIPEI TIMES
The city government said the VCD violated the Broadcasting and Television Law (
"The production company of Special Report is planning to release Part III as soon as tomorrow," said Johnson Chuang (莊勝榮), a lawyer representing the anonymous VCD production company.
Chuang also hinted at the content of parts III and IV.
"These two parts of the series will focus on politicians such as Democratic Progressive Party legislators (DPP) You Ching (
These politicians, regardless of their political stripe, will be rated according to their performance, Chuang said.
Chuang defended the legality of the VCD.
"The production company has registered with the Government Information Office (GIO) in Taipei City and Kaohsiung City Government and therefore is licensed and legal. Furthermore, the VCD is not for commercial purpose as it is being distributed free of charge," said Chuang said.
Chuang said the reason the license number of the production company has been concealed was due to potential threats.
"Chen Si-yu (
Chuang failed to identify the man who made the threat.
According to Chuang, after receiving the phone call, Chen informed the police and decided not to show up at the press conference.
Police searched the room for explosives ahead of the press conference.
"According to Article 29 of the Broadcasting and Television Law, all programs, except for news, have to be sent to the GIO for review before airing," Chuang said.
"However, this VCD is not a program meant for broadcast. Therefore, the seizure of the copies VCD has no legal basis."
Chuang urged Ma to examine regulations more carefully.
"Next time, before Ma makes any crackdown, he should first check with legal experts for a careful analysis," Chuang said.
"It is unfair that a VCD, which was produced by a civil entity, has to be seized by the government," Chuang said.
Chuang denied allegations that the companies Taiwan's Shop or Taiwan Voice were the producer of Special Report.
Huang Hui-chen (
"We've ordered local governments to confiscate copies of the VCD. Local governments therefore have to enforce a ban on this VCD according to the law," Huang said yesterday.
While the GIO does not have the power to order law enforcement officers to crack down on particular VCDs, Huang encouraged those who consider their reputation as smeared by the VCD to file a civil suit.
Huang was responding to questions from KMT Legislator Lee Tung-hao (李桐豪) during the question and answer session at the legislature's diplomacy and overseas affairs committee yesterday morning.
Visibly disappointed with Huang's answer, Lee said Huang had failed to take appropriate actions over Special Report.
"If all civil servants were as irresponsible as you, I don't see any future for this country," Lee said.
additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
REWRITING HISTORY: China has been advocating a ‘correct’ interpretation of the victory over Japan that brings the CCP’s contributions to the forefront, an expert said An elderly Chinese war veteran’s shin still bears the mark of a bullet wound he sustained when fighting the Japanese as a teenager, a year before the end of World War II. Eighty years on, Li Jinshui’s scar remains as testimony to the bravery of Chinese troops in a conflict that killed millions of their people. However, the story behind China’s overthrow of the brutal Japanese occupation is deeply contested. Historians broadly agree that credit for victory lies primarily with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-led Republic of China (ROC) Army. Its leader, Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a
RSS