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
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
TRANSPORT DISRUPTION: More than 100 ferry services were suspended due to rough seas and strong winds, and eight domestic flights were canceled, the ministry said Tropical Storm Wipha intensified slightly yesterday as it passed closest to Taiwan, dumping more than 200mm of rain in Hualien and Taitung counties, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 11am, Wipha was about 210km southwest of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and was moving west-northwest at 27km per hour (kph). The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 101kph and gusts reaching 126kph, with a 150km radius of strong winds, CWA data showed. Wipha’s outer rainbands began sweeping across Taiwan early yesterday, delivering steady rainfall in the east and scattered showers in other regions, forecasters said. More heavy rain was expected, especially in the eastern
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity