The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that its interaction with minister-without-portfolio Jacyln Tsai (蔡玉玲) — an attorney who heads a law firm that provides legal assistance to DMG Entertainment — has always been based on the law and professionalism, adding that the relationship would not affect the commission’s review of DMG’s proposed acquisition of Eastern Broadcasting Co (EBC).
The Los Angeles-based entertainment company was reported to have acquired one of Taiwan’s largest television networks, which generated an uproar earlier this week.
Lawmakers said that one of the cofounders of Dynamic Marketing Group — to which DMG Entertainment belongs — is the son of a former Chinese People’s Liberation Army leader.
They expressed concern that Dynamic Marketing Group’s ties with China would affect content presented on the network.
A story published yesterday by Chinese-language Next Magazine said that DMG Entertainment is represented by Lee, Tsai and Partners, which was founded by Tsai and her husband.
Tsai is in charge of overseeing the commission’s operations at the Cabinet level, the magazine said, which appeared to be a major conflict of interest.
Commission spokesperson Yu Hsiao-cheng (虞孝成) said that it handles every case based on the law and professionalism, adding that there was more than one buyer interested in acquiring EBC.
“For DMG Entertainment and other groups wanting to know the regulations to follow for acquiring one of the nation’s television channels, the commission is willing to explain the rules to them without any preferential treatment,” Yu said, adding that DMG Entertainment has yet to submit any application regarding the transaction.
Yu said that Tsai’s interaction with the commission is also within the parameters of the law.
He said the commission, as an independent agency, has never done anything improper, adding that the public should not be concerned about Tsai’s possible intervention in the deal.
Representative of New York-based private equity firm DE Shaw & Co also met with NCC Secretary-General Jason Ho (何吉森) to learn about the regulations governing the acquisition of media outlets.
In other commission news, officials confirmed that Taiwan Mobile has dropped out of the auction for frequency blocks in the 2,500 megahertz to 2,600 megahertz block after giving up its right to bid four times.
The nation’s second-largest telecom carrier entered the bidding for the frequencies on Tuesday last week with four other 4G carriers.
Taiwan Mobile said in a statement that the auction prices “have far exceeded its estimates,” adding that it decided to drop out after determining that it still “has sufficient frequency to meet the growth of 4G users in the next three to five years.”
As of yesterday, the total of the bidding fund in all frequency blocks had topped NT$22.72 billion (US$695.93 million), about 57 percent higher than the minimum bidding fund.
Seven of the 17 NT$10 million (US$311,604) winning receipts from the November-December uniform invoice lottery remain unclaimed as of today, the Ministry of Finance said, urging winners to redeem their prizes by May 5. The reminder comes ahead of the release of the winning numbers for the January-February lottery tomorrow. Among the unclaimed receipts was one for a NT$173 phone bill in Keelung, while others were for a NT$5,913 purchase at Costco in Taipei's Neihu District (內湖), a NT$49 purchase at a FamilyMart in New Taipei City's Tamsui District (淡水), and a NT$500 purchase at a tea shop in New Taipei City's
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
TALENT SCOUTING: The university is investing substantial funds in its future to bring in the kind of researchers that would keep the college internationally competitive National Taiwan University (NTU) plans to invest NT$2 billion (US$62.6 million) to launch two programs aimed at attracting and retaining top research talent, university president Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) said yesterday. The funding would support the “Palm Grove Scholars Project,” which targets academics aged 40 to 55. Up to 20 scholars would be selected, each receiving as much as NT$10 million annually, Chen said. The initiative is designed to attract leading researchers to Taiwan and strengthen NTU’s global competitiveness by fostering a more research-friendly environment and expanding international collaboration, he said. NTU is also introducing a “Hong Hu” chair grant, which would provide Palm
RSS