Fearing the approval of an application by Want Want China Times Group to purchase China Network Systems would turn the former into a “media monster” monopoly, academics held a press conference yesterday to urge the National Communications Commission (NCC) to block the acquisition.
On the eve of the second public hearing for the merger review today, academics said an Internet petition against the merger initiated by 54 academics had received the support of 78 civic groups and 2,136 individuals over six days.
Want Want China Broadband already has major newspapers, magazines, publishing firms and cable and wireless TV news channels, National Taiwan University associate professor Hung Chen-ling (洪貞玲) said, adding that if the merger with CNS was approved, a multiple system operator that operates 11 cable TV and broadband Internet services would account for about 30 percent of the total media audience in Taiwan.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Hung said academics feared the NT$70 billion (US$2.3 billion) merger attempt by the group — which has a track record of “bad behavior” for accusing NCC commissioners in its newspaper and filing suits on reporters — risked leading to high media concentration, harming freedom of the press.
Shih Jun-ji (施俊吉), a research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Social Science, said it made no sense to continue the review when three of the seven review committee members had already walked out.
“With only four members left, the committee is not competent to review this important case,” Shih said.
The academics urged the commission to stop the review process and establish an ad hoc committee including citizen representatives and specialists from various fields to investigate the case.
Hu Yuan-hui (胡元輝), an associate professor at National Chung Cheng University’s department of communications and president of the Foundation for Excellent Journalism, said that many studies showed that high media concentration undermines the quality of the media environment, not only in terms of lack of content diversity but also independence and the labor conditions of journalists.
Lin Yuan-huei (林元輝), a professor at National Chengchi University’s department of journalism, said studies have shown that the China Times has provided much more entertainment news about Want Want group’s cable channels since the last merger.
The academics said they also feared that with a large proportion of Want Want Group chairman Tsai Eng-ming’s (蔡衍明) profits being made in China, there was reason to suspect that messages favorable toward the Chinese government would affect media content in Taiwan.
“Having control over the channels also means control over their content,” Shih said, adding that the merger could affect as many as 4 million viewers if it were allowed to proceed.
Some academics also expressed support for the media to monitor government officials and political figures to protect the public interest. They criticized Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Hsieh Kuo-liang’s (謝國樑) lawsuit against Internet news source New Talk reporter Lin Chau-yi (林朝億) for reporting that Hsieh had tried to pressure the commission into approving the merger.
Association of Taiwan Journalists executive committee member Liu Ming-tang (劉明堂) said it was improper for legislators to file lawsuits against ordinary citizens to express their discontent.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
RSS