Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators hampered the independence of the press by using untruthful allegations to attempt to force the resignation of Central News Agency (CNA) chairman Chen Kuo-hsiang (陳國祥), Chen said yesterday in an open letter to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
DPP legislators have launched an onslaught against the CNA leadership, and the public is watching to see if politicians are able to interfere with the independence of the state-sponsored agency and freedom of the press, Chen wrote on Facebook.
DPP lawmakers Wang Ding-yu (王定宇), Ho Hsin-chun (何欣純) and Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) last week called a news conference and accused Chen of pressuring journalists to solicit advertisers and sponsors for paid news stories, and illegally channeling commissions owed to reporters to a personal account.
The three called another news conference on Tuesday, saying that the agency’s business development deputy director Richard Yu (虞煥榮) is doubling as the chairman and director of three advertising companies, which Yu failed to disclose, which might involve an unacceptable conflict of interest.
On the same day, DPP Legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康) posted an advertisement placement order, apparently processed by the CNA, which quoted a price of NT$230,000 for four news stories and two video stories, with Tuan accusing the agency of publishing paid stories.
Chen said that those accusations are fabricated and politically motivated to force his resignation and interfere with the agency.
The CNA does not require reporters to solicit sponsors or write paid stories, but they are eligible to a fixed 10 percent commission on sales if they are voluntarily involved in marketing activities, and there is no such thing as a secret fund established with commissions owed to reporters, the agency said.
Yu is not involved in the operation of the three companies, two of which have been closed, and the CNA does not have dealings with those companies, the agency said.
Chen said that the three-year term-of-office system for CNA’s chairperson and directors is in place to ensure the independence of the press from politics.
“My personal career does not matter,” Chen said. “What matters is whether the 20-year-old term-of-office system will collapse along with a political party gaining complete control of [legislative and administrative] power.”
Chen said he would immediately resign if there is any evidence of corruption, otherwise he would remain in the position to uphold his integrity and the freedom of the press.
Meanwhile, Wang said Chen was lying and deliberately obscuring the issue, as the CNA did publish paid stories and it never directly responded to the allegation that the agency directs commission to a personal account.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office has established a case to look into the allegations, Wang said.
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