The National Communications Commission (NCC) must look into a series of blackouts experienced by New Tang Dynasty Asia Pacific Television (NTDTV) to make sure they were not an attempt by Beijing to restrict media freedom in Taiwan, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.
The Falun Gong-affiliated station, which is known for speaking out against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), said its Taipei-based station began experiencing intermittent interruptions on Sept. 17, two weeks before China's National Day last Thursday.
The station reported a total blackout on Thursday, when the Chinese government put on an elaborate military parade in Beijing to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of China.
Chunghwa Telecom was immediately notified of the problem but has been unable to determine the cause of the interruption, except to say that all equipment appeared to be functioning normally, said Chang Ching-chung (張欽宗), a section head at Chunghwa Telecom, who said it would be difficult to determine whether China was behind the blackouts.
In a statement, NTDTV said: “This apparent jamming is an unprecedented encroachment of commercial broadcast in Taiwan. During this period ... NTD calls on the international community to take heed of this development. If it proves to be true [that China caused the blackouts], China's communist regime would have violated media freedom in a territory beyond its borders. This would be an affront not only to the democratic society of Taiwan, but to democracies everywhere.”
Lai told a press conference yesterday that if NTDTV went off air because of sabotage, it would be no small matter and would constitute attempts by Beijing to restrict media freedom in Taiwan. The government must determine what happened to ensure that media freedom is protected, he said.
Lin Ching-chih (林清池), head of the NCC's information management division, said the NCC had launched a probe into the incident and asked Chunghwa Telecom to locate the cause of the blackouts as soon as possible.
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS