Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday accepted an apology by the Chinese-language Apple Daily for causing controversy with the content of its News-In-Motion feature, but said the city government would continue monitoring its content.
The newspaper ran a statement yesterday apologizing over the controversial news content of News-In-Motion, saying it started rating its news content on Saturday.
Apple Daily also canceled plans to file a lawsuit against Hau and the city government for banning the newspaper at municipal schools.
Taipei City Government spokesperson Chao Hsin-ping (趙心屏) said the city government expected the Apple Daily to fulfill its promise, adding that it would ask the National Communications Commission to determine whether the newspaper’s rating system met regulations.
“The Taipei City Government respects the freedom of the press. We took the measures against the newspaper in order to protect children and teenagers,” she said.
The Hau administration gave Next Media Ltd, publisher of the Apple Daily, two fines totaling NT$1 million (US$31,000) for publishing sensational content in violation of media classification regulations in the Children and Juveniles Welfare Act (兒童及青少年福利法).
The city government also ordered all schools in the city to cancel their subscriptions to the newspaper because it contained a barcode enabling free downloads of News-in-Motion clips to cellphones.
The Apple Daily — owned by Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai (黎智英) — launched News-In-Motion last week as part of a trial run before the Apple Group expands into TV.
The service is accessible only to readers who pay a fee.
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