The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday vowed to take a hard-line approach against political or media commentators whose words or actions were deemed harmful to the party's reputation.
KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yi (吳敦義) made the remarks yesterday in response to media reports on a legal case involving the party's controversial sales of its three media assets in 2005.
The KMT on Dec. 24, 2005 sold China Television Co (CTV, 中視), the Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC) and the Central Motion Pictures Corp (CMPC, 中影) to the China Times Group -- one day before the deadline set by the government for political and military groups to divest their media holdings.
Chang Che-chen (
Adding this amount in, the China Times Group paid a total of NT$9.3 billion to the KMT for the companies, he said.
However, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Yu Shyi-kun filed a lawsuit last November accusing the KMT of breach of trust and misappropriation for selling the three companies -- with an estimated worth of NT$15.2 billion (US$456 million) -- to Jung-li under the China Times Group for just NT$4 billion.
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office said on Wednesday that it was looking into the case and would be calling witnesses to testify on the case soon.
Wu rebutted the accusations yesterday.
"Sure, the three companies had a total value of $15.2 billion; however, they also had a total debt of NT$11.2 billion," Wu said.
"When you deduct the debts from the total value, you get NT$4 billion." he said.
Wu added that the boards of directors of the companies decided on the sales independently.
"The KMT was a stockholder; however, the boards of directors of the companies decided on the sales themselves ... neither the party, nor former [KMT] chairman Ma Ying-jeou were involved," he said.
Wu also vowed to take legal actions against individuals whose statements might harm the party' s reputation.
"Media or political commentators should make statements based on facts ... otherwise, they have to bear legal responsibility [for their actions]," Wu warned.
Wu added that the KMT had already filed lawsuits against Yu and DPP legislators Yu Jan-daw (余政道) and Kao Chien-chih (高建智), charging them with slander.
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
88.2 PERCENT INCREASE: The variants driving the current outbreak are not causing more severe symptoms, but are ‘more contagious’ than previous variants, an expert said Number of COVID-19 cases in the nation is surging, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describing the ongoing wave of infections as “rapid and intense,” and projecting that the outbreak would continue through the end of July. A total of 19,097 outpatient and emergency visits related to COVID-19 were reported from May 11 to Saturday last week, an 88.2 percent increase from the previous week’s 10,149 visits, CDC data showed. The nearly 90 percent surge in case numbers also marks the sixth consecutive weekly increase, although the total remains below the 23,778 recorded during the same period last year,