The Want Want Group’s hostile response to a ruling by the National Communications Commission (NCC) earlier this month has begun to backfire. The controversy intensified to a degree that has hurt the group, and Want Want has only itself to blame.
Angered by conditions that the NCC imposed on proposed changes to management at China Television Co and CTiTV, the China Times Group — owned by Want Want — responded with newspaper ads personally targeting three members of the commission.
After these tactics prompted objections from media experts and many others, Want Want threatened its critics with legal action. Media Watch chairman Kuan Chung-hsiang (管中祥) and Association of Taiwan Journalists chairman Leon Chuang (莊豐嘉) were among those who received letters from the company demanding a public apology … or else.
In doing so, Want Want confirmed the concerns of skeptics that it was willing to resort to dirty tactics to suppress opinions that it finds unacceptable. The group’s newspaper attacks on NCC members sparked accusations that the company hoped to press the commission into retracting its provisions. When the NCC subsequently weakened the conditions, those concerns were magnified, if not vindicated.
Want Want’s behavior is disturbing for a company that, as a stakeholder in the media market, is in a position to protect — or curb — freedom of speech.
But Want Want may be regretting its strategy.
Last week, media scholars presented a protest letter — including the signatures of around 150 of their colleagues — that condemned Want Want over its threats. Now, more than 400 media workers and observers have called on the company to respect freedom of speech and ethics in journalism.
The backlash did not end there. Want Want’s actions drew sharp words from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), which criticized the company’s “attempts to intimidate journalists, public commentators and NCC personnel” and questioned its “commitment to freedom of expression and the value of independent voices in Taiwan.”
The bad press may have reached its apex: Even before the federation’s statement on Monday, Want Want, looking rather foolish, if still thuggish, softened its tone when a top company official indicated in a meeting last week with two academics that the company might cease its attacks on critics.
But even if Want Want learns to respect its critics — or at least leave them alone — there is still cause for alarm over its role in the media. When a company that earns the vast majority of its revenue in China gains a stake in major Taiwanese news outlets, the potential for back-room influence on editorial freedom is immediate and profound.
Beijing has a track record of leaning on foreign firms — Yahoo’s betrayal of journalist Shi Tao (師濤) being just one consequence. Regardless of Want Want’s intentions, it is likely that Beijing will attempt to exploit the group’s dependence on the Chinese market to influence the content of its media outlets.
This week wasn’t the first time this year that the IFJ expressed concern about media developments in Taiwan, and events this year indicate that it might not be the last. The organization also expressed concern that the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is meddling in state-run media.
In the case of the Want Want Group, it is hoped that the outcry among media experts at home and abroad will be enough to make it think twice before bullying journalists and academics again. Either way, a grim precedent has been set: If you have enough money, clout and aggression, you can walk all over the NCC.
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