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.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS