The government is to introduce legislation to prevent Chinese media outlets from exploiting a legal loophole to illegally operate over-the-top (OTT) services in Taiwan, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said yesterday, amid reports that China Central Television (CCTV) could soon begin services in the nation.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Wednesday reported that CCTV plans to follow the model of Chinese OTT service providers iQiyi (愛奇藝) and Tencent Video (騰訊視頻), and begin operations in Taiwan.
The companies have been able to skirt a rule banning Chinese OTT service providers from operating in Taiwan without permission by contracting local distributors and platform providers, the Liberty Times said.
Photo courtesy of a reader
Asked to comment on the report, Kolas described the model as a “breach of democracy,” whose existence the government would not sit back and tolerate.
The government would introduce new legislation or amendments to existing laws to keep Chinese OTT service providers from exploiting the loophole, Kolas said, adding that legislative efforts were set in motion last year.
Reiterating that the government prohibits any foreign OTT service provider from operating in the nation without its permission, she said it is regrettable that some Chinese companies have circumvented the rule by enlisting local partners.
As some people have paid for membership of the services, any forthcoming changes would guarantee that their rights are protected, she added.
After iQiyi’s application to launch local operations was rejected by the National Communications Commission in 2016, it has been operating under a partnership with its local distributor, OTT (歐銻銻).
Pan-green camp lawmakers have since expressed concerns that programs offered on the Web site could contain content aimed at pushing Beijing’s “united front” agenda.
The commission yesterday said that the government is drafting an act to govern OTT content, adding that it could be used to handle issues related to Chinese operators.
The bill stipulates that issues related to the Chinese firms — such as their use of partners to circumvent local laws to broadcast OTT content in Taiwan — would be addressed through the collective efforts of various government agencies, it said.
The Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Chinese companies can only invest in certain categories of goods and services, which do not include OTT broadcasts, it added.
Regarding reports that Chinese OTT providers have been promoting their services and garnering members through their local agents, the commission said that it is handling the matter to ensure that operators comply with the nation’s laws.
The Cabinet on Sept. 26 last year decided that OTT services would be jointly overseen by the commission, the Ministry of Culture and the Mainland Affairs Council, it said.
The commission oversees OTT broadcasts from abroad, but Chinese content — including movies, prerecorded shows, and radio and TV programs — would first be subject to regulation by the ministry and the council, it added.
The commission said that it would soon unveil the bill after discussions with all other relevant government agencies.
This story has been amended since it was first published.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS