U paper, a sister newspaper of the United Daily News distributed in MRT stations, came under attack yesterday as some Taipei City councilors accused it of being a campaign tool of former Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
The paper, which since March is the only publication allowed to be distributed in the 69 MRT stations, brought a revenue of NT$18 million (US$ 540,000) for the United Daily News group thanks to its 20 advertisement pages, the councilors said.
Most of the remaining 20 pages not only failed to report municipal news, but even promoted Ma as a presidential hopeful, they said.
"Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation allowed the paper to monopolize the market in the MRT stations, campaigning for Ma for president with biased news content," Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Hsu Chia-chin (徐佳青) told a press conference at Taipei City Council yesterday.
The president of the corporation, Tsai Hui-sheng (
DPP Taipei City Councilor Chou Wei-yu (
In the past, newspapers targeting MRT passengers could only be distributed outside of MRT stations. The United Daily News group won the bid with NT$140 million this year to distribute its U paper inside stations for the next three years.
The contract allows the paper to distribute more than 50,000 papers each day, but limited its content to "informative news" and promotion of municipal policies.
"The paper carried stories lauding Ma's charisma, while covering little about Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) or municipal events ? Instead of promoting municipal policies, the paper serves as a campaign tool for Ma," Chou said.
Rather than providing useful information for MRT passengers, DPP councilors said the paper increased trash by 20 percent for the company, while accusing the company of being overly focused on profiting through advertising.
In response to the accusations, marketing manager of the corporation Chan Shih-tsung (詹仕聰) said the company will demand the paper reduce its advertisement pages to one-third of its contents, and dedicate two pages to promote municipal policies.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS