Taiwan People News is on Dec. 31 to cease daily operations after six years due to financial difficulties, founder Chen Yung-hsing (陳永興) said on Thursday on the news Web site, thanking readers for their support.
Taiwan People News does not have the financial backing of big conglomerates, enterprises or political parties, and has been supported by about 300 small shareholders from the medical, cultural, and small and medium-sized enterprise sectors, said Chen, who is also a political activist.
Shareholders decided to stop daily operations because of the costs of running a daily news Web site.
Over the past six years, Taiwan People News has spent NT$72 million (US$2.33 million), Chen said, adding that the decision was made with great reluctance, but it is time to say goodbye.
Chen said that he was appointed to settle the news outlet’s accounts, and any remaining funds would be donated to the Taiwan People Cultural Arts Foundation, which is expected to continue running the news Web site and publish occasional articles written by editorial writers from Taiwan People News.
Research conducted in October by Taiwan Media Watch, a non-governmental organization committed to maintaining press freedom and promoting media self-regulation, found that the Taiwan People News Facebook page was one of the most trustworthy and diverse among the 36 organizations publishing daily news in Taiwan.
Organized by Chen, Nobel Prize laureate Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) and film director Wu Nien-jen (吳念真), Taiwan People News publishes news without charge and seeks to reflect public opinion in Taiwan, according to its Web site.
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