The heads of 10 journalism and communication schools nationwide yesterday issued a statement opposing a bid by Want Want Broadband to acquire the the cable TV systems owned by China Network Systems (CNS).
The statement is expected to be the focus of discussions at the legislature’s Transportation Committee meeting today, when lawmakers review four nominations for commissioner of the National Communications Commission.
The Want Want-CNS deal involves the merger of a media conglomerate owning newspapers, magazines and TV networks with the nation’s second-largest multiple service operator (MSO).
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The commission has yet to approve the merger, which it has been reviewing for 16 months.
Three of the department chairs — Lin Yuan-huei (林元輝), chair of the department of journalism at National Chengchi University; Lin Lih-yun (林麗雲), director of the Graduate Institute of Journalism at National Taiwan University; and Hu Guang-shiash (胡光夏), chair of the department of journalism at Shih Hsin University — yesterday attended a press conference called by Taiwan Media Watch board director Lin Fu-yueh (林福岳). Want Want China Broadband was represented by special assistant to its chairman, Chao Yu-pei (趙育培).
Lin Fu-yueh said that the group of journalism department directors do not want a media group to monopolize public opinion in Taiwan.
“We reviewed the performance of the Want Want China Times Group over the past year or so and feel the group is not qualified to manage media,” they said. “We are thus strongly against allowing such a group to manage even more media.”
The experts also listed several actions taken by the group that they said were unprofessional and failed to live to up to its corporate responsibility, including allowing the Chinese government to buy news coverage at the Chinese-language daily China Times and lashing out at individuals and groups with opposing views.
In response, Chao said Want Want China Broadband and Want Want China Times Group were different companies, adding that the former was prepared to make 29 commitments if the Want Want-CNS deal were approved.
He said the China Times was fined NT$1.8 million (US$61,000) for allowing embedded marketing by the Chinese government, and added that Want Want China Broadband would have an internal review on all aspects of marketing.
Chao said the company would not give preferential treatment to channels from the Want Want China Times Group, adding that media controlled by the group represented only one of many different voices in Taiwan and it is unlikely that the deal would monopolize opinions.
“We welcome specific examples about how stories in the China Times betrayed the faith of Taiwanese, not abstract thoughts and observations,” Chao said.
Lin Fu-yueh said he had read the list of commitments and doubted the company had the ability to keep them.
“If Want Want China Broadband and the Want Want China Times Group are indeed unrelated, I could not help but ask why the latter defended the former by devoting an entire page at the China Times to the coverage of a public hearing on the deal,” he said. “Would you do the same if it was another group that wanted to purchase the CNS? Would you give favorable coverage to that group, too?”
Lin Lih-yun quoted Want Want chairman Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), who said at the public hearing earlier this month that he did not know what was wrong with getting paid by the Chinese government to write news for them.
“The commission should have rejected this deal a long time ago because Tsai was doing something illegal,” she said. “They should have revoked the licenses of their television networks, too.”
The statement was drafted by Taiwan Media Watch and endorsed by: Aaron Chiu (邱誌勇), chairman of the department of mass communication at Providence University; Chen Chih-hsien (陳志賢), chair of the department of cultural development at National Kaohsiung University of Applied Science; Mark Chen (陳春富), chair of the department of communication arts at Fu Jen Catholic University; Chen Ping-hung (陳炳宏), chair of the Graduate Institute of Mass Communication at National Taiwan Normal University; Tseng Kuo-feng (曾國峰), director of the department of radio and television at National Chengchi University; Shaw Pin (蕭蘋), head of the Institute of Communications Management at National Sun Yat-sen University; and Day Wan-wen (戴皖文), chair of the department of communication at National Chung Cheng University.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS