The Washington-based Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) is calling on Taiwan’s government and media regulators to stop the sale of four Taiwanese outlets of the Next Media Group to a consortium in which Want Want China Times Group chairman Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明) has a controlling interest.
FAPA president Mark Kao (高龍榮) said Taipei should disallow the sale and find a solution that respects media diversity “in keeping with the values of freedom and democracy.”
In a statement issued on Friday, FAPA expressed “deep concern about the erosion of press freedom in Taiwan.”
Its concern has been triggered by worries that the Next Media Group’s four Taiwanese outlets — Apple Daily, Sharp Daily, Next Magazine and Next TV — would be muzzled by its new owners.
Tsai has a reputation for being pro-China and FAPA fears that he will suppress criticism of the Chinese government.
FAPA said that following his takeover of the China Times in 2008, many editors and reporters at the Taiwanese daily who had written stories critical of the Chinese government were reportedly asked to leave.
According to a complaint by the Association of Taiwan Journalists the sale of Next Media (Taiwan), to Want Want China Times would violate the anti-monopoly and fair competition stipulations of the Fair Trade Act (公平交易法).
The deal now awaits official approval by Next Media’s shareholders and Taiwanese regulators — the Fair Trade Commission and the National Communications Commission.
“Regrettably, this development is part of a wider pattern of eroding press freedoms that we have observed, beginning in 2008 when President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), came to power,” Kao said.
He said Tsai’s Want Want China Times Group had become the “main vehicle for the creeping influence of pro-China interests and opinions” in Taiwan.
Kao called on the Taiwanese government and media regulators to stop the sale and said that Taiwanese-Americans would bring the issue to the attention of the US government.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS