Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucus leader Chen Chien-ming (
The Chinese-language newspaper published an interview with the fugitive tycoon along with an advertisement from him on March 1, and also carried an advertisement from him the following day.
"Why would the United Daily News cooperate with a fugitive? Are there political motives for its publishing Chen Yu-hao's interview after the successful Hand-in-Hand Rally?" Chen Chien-ming said.
"The News selling advertisements and getting a news story for free has destroyed its claim to media impartiality," he said.
The lawmaker also asked why the paper had not published the article until March 1 when the interview was done on Feb. 24.
"Is it because they foresaw that the Hand-in-Hand Rally would be successful and they decided to publish the article after the rally to attack the governing party?" Chen Chien-ming said.
"The United Daily News' publication of Chen Yu-hao's advertisements on March 1 and 2 was worth NT$1.57 million. If you include past advertisements, the total is more than NT$2 million," he asked.
"Who contacted it about the advertisements? Are there political groups who have been in charge?" he asked.
He also asked why it was that Chen Yu-hao had money for the advertisements but was unwilling to pay his debts in Taiwan.
The newspaper's chief George Shuang (
"The United Daily News sent its reporters to interview Chen Yu-hao on Feb. 24 and 25, and since there was a lot of work to be done after the interview, including extra interviews to prove Chen's credibility, and there was only one person working on the post-interview materials, it was already close to Feb. 28 when all the work was finished," Shuang said.
He said that the newspaper did not have space for the article immediately after it was completed because of the Hand-in-Hand Rally, so publication was postponed until March 1. He also said that the paper was not a hit man for anyone.
"The United Daily News accepts advertisements from everyone, and when we find interesting threads in an advertisement, it is only normal that we follow up," Shuang said.
Shuang said that the advertisements had been cleared for publication by Chen Yu-hao himself.
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