The George W. Bush administration asked US television networks to "exercise judgment" in airing taped messages from Osama bin Laden that could inspire more terrorist attacks, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice telephoned network executives to raise concerns about airing bin Laden's "pre-taped, pre-packaged" messages, and made clear editorial decisions can only be made by the media, Fleischer said. Network executives agreed with the administration's concerns, he said.
"At best, Osama bin Laden's messages are propaganda calling on people to kill Americans," Fleischer said. "At worst, he could be issuing orders to his followers to initiate attacks." Following a conference call earlier between the White House and TV news executives, the networks agreed not to air statements from bin Laden or other al-Qaeda spokesmen live without editing.
The White House request follows two TV broadcasts over three days of two tapes by bin Laden and his aides, in which they vowed more attacks on the US and praised the Sept. 11 hijacking of airliners that were flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
AOL Time Warner Inc's Cable News Network and MSNBC, the news channel owned by General Electric Co and Microsoft Corp, yesterday showed an entire taped message from a bin Laden aide that included comments such as: ``Those youth who have destroyed America with those airplanes have done a good deed.'' CNN said today it will stop showing the almost 7-minute tape in its entirety because of administration concerns that it may incite further terrorist attacks.
CNN, which is seen in more than 200 countries, may continue to show portions of the tape, spokesman Matthew Furman said.
MSNBC also will continue to show portions and has decided against showing the full recording, spokesman Mark O'Connor said.
The White House call today included representatives of the three major US broadcast networks -- NBC, Walt Disney Co's ABC TV and Viacom Inc's CBS -- and News Corp's Fox News. The conversation was "very collegial," and Rice didn't ask for "no airing at all" of bin Laden, Fleischer said. The network executives "acknowledged" that "this is a time of national responsibility, and they are willing to look at this in a very responsible way," Fleischer said.
The networks agreed to evaluate future bin Laden messages before broadcasting, according to statements from each company.
The White House fears that airing bin Laden's tapes helps him communicate with his followers. "The means of communications out of Afghanistan are fairly limited," Fleischer said. "I think the best way to say it is that" bin Laden's network "faces certain challenges." Some media watchers say they don't think the government's request or the networks' reaction should be considered censorship.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS