Radio Taiwan International’s (RTI) renting of airtime to China’s Guangdong Television for its Zhibo Quanqiu (直播全球, World Broadcast) program amounts to assisting efforts to unify Taiwan and China, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康) said yesterday.
Tuan said the use of the radio station’s facilities by Chinese media demonstrated a pro-China stance, as Radio Taiwan International (RTI) is supposed to be a mouthpiece for the government and generally broadcasts information about government policy.
Aside from renting out space at the station to Chinese media at a low cost, the station has also invited Chinese National Party (KMT) supporter and radio host Tang Hsiang-lung (唐湘龍) on numerous occasions to provide commentary, all of which Tuan said adds up to a significant problem for the government.
In a previous contract from March to June last year, Shenzhen Jiangqing Culture Media rented two hours of airtime twice per week, paying the station NT$9,000 per broadcast, Tuan said, adding that content was produced on behalf of Guanddong Television, which the station then edited and uploaded to China’s Baidu cloud storage.
The fixed price to use the station’s facilities for four hours is NT$22,000, with additional fees incurred for direction, filming and editing, Tuan said, adding that NT$9,000 for two hours was unreasonably low.
Guandong Television’s program regularly addresses controversial political topics from a pro-China perspective, Tuan said, citing comments by Tang in support of a visit by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍), as well as comments in support of China’s position in the South China Sea dispute.
“This is the equivalent of using Taiwan’s resources to spread Chinese government propaganda,” Tuan said.
Tuan also said that station board chairman Sunshine Kuang (曠湘霞), who had previously held the post in 2009, is turning 65 soon and should “pass on the baton,” citing a 2014 letter from the Executive Yuan that said the station’s chairman should not be older than 65.
Station spokesperson Rachel Luo (羅秋香) said that it lacks funding and relies on the rental of its facilities for income.
“We rent to anyone who comes to us with money,” Luo said, adding that the station does not take any political stances and that it hopes to receive more government funding.
Station director Weber Lai (賴祥蔚) said on Facebook that the station is a base from which Taiwan is marketed to the world, asking rhetorically: “Who exactly is employing a ‘united front’ against whom?”
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS