A Hakka Journalism Award recipient yesterday accused the Council for Hakka Affairs (CHA) of restricting his freedom of speech after it refused to show a recorded message about his nomination at the award ceremony.
Yeh Jih-chia (葉日嘉), a freelancer, received this year’s Hakka Journalism Award for his report on the Miaoli County Government’s demolition of historic kilns in Houlong Township (後龍), which was published in Hakka Magazine earlier this year.
The three kilns, torn down in January to make way for a development project, were the last kilns built during the Japanese colonial period to manufacture bricks and pottery, when Miaoli was the country’s pottery production center.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
After submitting his work and receiving a nomination for the award, Yeh was asked by the council to introduce his own work and share his thoughts in a video clip.
The council has been showing video recordings by award nominees at its award ceremony since the award was first held three years ago.
As Yeh is also a member of the campaign to save the kilns, in the video clip he held up signs asking Miaoli County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) to apologize and Miaoli International Culture and Tourism Bureau director Lin Chen-feng (林振豐) to step down.
“I sent my video on Tuesday [last week] and received a telephone call from an official asking if I could change the content because they considered it inappropriate,” Yeh said after receiving the award yesterday.
“The official said they were afraid showing the video could create conflict between the council and the Miaoli County Government,” he said.
“I said I wouldn’t change it and it was up to them whether to show it or not,” he said.
Although an independent panel of judges decided to give the award to Yeh, the council decided not to show his video, making Yeh one of only two nominees without a video presentation.
The other, Chung Chao-wen (鍾肇文), passed away before he could make a video.
“I think that the council is too conservative. It’s my right to say what I want to say in my video,” Yeh said. “If there are any consequences, I will take responsibility for what I say.”
The council’s Public Media Center deputy director, Andrew Yu (游進忠), said it was his decision to block Yeh’s video.
“If we showed the video at an award ceremony organized by the council, it would be like a government organization attacking the head of another government organization — that’s something we simply cannot do, otherwise we would upset people,” Yu said. “There’s no freedom of speech at a government agency.”
Minister of the Council for Hakka Affairs Huang Yu-chen (黃玉振), who said he was unaware of the decision until told by reporters, supported Yu’s decision.
Chiang Min-hsiu (江明修), dean of National Central University’s College of Hakka Studies and head of the panel of judges for the award, however, disagreed.
“Whatever Yeh has to say represents only himself, not any other organization, and should be respected,” Chiang said. “Especially because what he feels about the entire issue was what motivated him to write the story that won the award.”
“I think the council overreacted,” he said.
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
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
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