Central Investment Co, the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) only remaining company, yesterday dismissed allegations that part of Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC) would be returned to the company.
The KMT sold BCC to Jungli Investment Co in 2005 for approximately NT$9.3 billion (US$282 million). China Television Co and the Central Motion Picture Corp were also included in the deal. The company later sold BCC to current BCC chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) in 2006.
The Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) yesterday reported that Jaw applied to the National Communications Commission (NCC) last year to divide BCC into two companies, BCC and an asset management company, in an attempt to return the NT$7 billion company to Central Investment Co.
Wang Hai-ching (汪海清), general manager of Central Investment Co, yesterday dismissed the report, saying that the KMT had carried out its promise of divesting the party of its media interests when it sold the three companies.
Wang said Jaw applied to divide BCC in order to follow the NCC’s regulations in preparation for the radio station’s stock being officially listed on the stock exchange.
The Central Investment Co no longer owns a share holding in BCC and it was Jaw’s right to handle the company as he saw fit, Wang said.
“The sale was complicated, but it was handled according to the law,” Wang told a press conference at the KMT headquarters.
Wang declined to comment on whether or not Jaw would keep only BCC and return the asset management company to Central Investment Co.
Wang said prosecutors began an investigation into the KMT’s handling of the sale of the three media outlets under the Democratic Progressive Party government. He urged the public to respect the investigation, which had not discovered anything illegal about the sale and to stop damaging the KMT’s reputation with groundless accusations.
The KMT placed the Central Investment Co into trust in 2007 following Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) pledge to resolve the party assets issue during his time as party chairman. The company was expected to have been sold, but the party continues to own the firm.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
RSS