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Do not believe Chiu Yi's hype, DPP lawmaker says

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Kuo-yung speaks about media financed by Chinese capital and their role in China's ambition to annex Taiwan at the Cardinal Tien Educational Center in Taipei yesterday. PHOTO: CHEN TSE-MING, TAIPEI TIMES

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) yesterday urged the public not to believe the sensational "revelations" made by some guest speakers on TV political talk shows -- because the programs are funded mainly by Chinese money.

Hsu made a speech about the impact of Chinese investment on Taiwan's politics yesterday afternoon. The event was held by Taiwan Heart (台灣心會), a pro-independence group founded by Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), at the Catholic Cardinal Tien Educational Center.

Hsu singled out for criticism the political talk show 2100 Quan Min Kai Jiang (Speaking Your Mind at 2100), broadcast by the cable station TVBS.

He said that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅), who has recently gained fame for his near-daily allegations of corruption involving President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) family and inner circle, simply pieced together bits of information he received from the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau, but did not do any fact-checking before making public accusations against the first family.

"Chiu and some other so-called famous commentators think they can turn lies into truth by repeating them 100 times," Hsu said. "They have tried to cause instability and a crisis of confidence in Taiwan. They have come up with so many charges and yet offered little evidence. They just like to cause `hit-and-run accidents.'"

Hsu said that the people who made accusations against government officials were actually trying to please TVBS investors, who are mainly Chinese shareholders.

"Many audience members believe those commentators' words without thinking too much. But the audience forgets that the TV talk show and the news is produced by Chinese who do not aim to report facts but merely report their standpoints," Hsu said.

Hsu also said that the Journalist weekly, China Times and the United Daily News have the same problems of biased reporting. "These outlets have unclear sources of capital and have changed hands several times. It is hard to believe their stories could be objective," Hsu said.

Hsu said that he did not mind that news media receiving foreign capital operated in Taiwan, but said that the Taiwanese audience should know who such outlets really speak for.
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