The Videoland cable television network was fined NT$600,000 yesterday after violating the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法) by showing images of “brutal killings” on its movie channel.
In a Taipei news conference, National Communications Commission spokesperson Yu Hsiao-cheng (虞孝成) said that the channel aired a Hong Kong film named Claypot Curry Killers on April 25 in which the characters used hammers and other tools and weapons to kill people.
“The film was broadcast between 9pm and 11:05pm. Only programs classified as ‘parental guidance’ [PG] are allowed to be shown during those hours,” Yu said. “However, the film contains visual content that had gone beyond the range defined for PG programs.”
Separately, a sports channel included in Chunghwa Telecom’s multimedia-on-demand system was fined NT$300,000 after it broadcast a program about online games that included violent imagery.
The commission said that program showed violent images from an online game.
The commission said that characters in the video games were shown shooting others in the head at close range with depictions of blood splatter.
Characters were also seen stabbing people with bladed weapons, the commission said.
According to the commission, the program did not specify its classification and was aired between 10am and 4pm, when programs classified as “protected” are allowed.
Formosa TV was fined a total of NT$150,000 for improper product placement in its TV series Dowries (嫁妝).
According to the commission, the episodes aired on March 9 and April 15 this year had overtly and extensively advertised medical equipment as well as a WiFi router produced by a Taiwanese telecom carrier.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it