Authorities should investigate whether ByteDance Taiwan is affiliated with Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動), which would show whether they are upholding 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), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
Article 73 of the act states that China-based social media software companies — which includes TikTok and its Chinese version, Douyin (抖音) — are prohibited from establishing branch offices in Taiwan, the council said on Thursday.
Tiktoktaiwan Co Ltd (昇洋國際生技), registered in 2019, on Nov. 2 changed its registered name to ByteDance Taiwan (字節跳動台灣), Ministry of Economic Affairs’ records show.
Photo: AP
The government’s lack of action contradicts its verbal commitment to reduce the influence of Chinese technology firms in Taiwan, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiu Chi-wei (邱志偉) said.
Chiu cited the example of an investigation into China-based streaming media service iQiyi (愛奇藝) that took two years before the Taiwanese representative terminated the contract.
TikTok poses a greater information and national security risk than iQiyi, Chiu said, pushing for an urgent government probe.
Taiwan Thinktank member Tung Li-wen (董立文) said the government should not allow software that poses a “great risk” to Taiwan, and phase out such software throughout Taiwan.
Tung said that enacting new legislation might require a long and complex process, but Taipei can use existing laws, such as the Consumer Protection Act (消費者保護法), or the Criminal Code, to begin controlling what content a platform delivers.
Association of Chinese Elite Leadership Secretary-General Wang Chih-sheng (王智盛) said TikTok’s security risk is well known, citing Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s lawsuit against TikTok for misleading consumers about its age-appropriateness and its protections for shielding US user data from access by the Chinese government.
The US Senate passed a bill on Wednesday banning federal employees from using TikTok on government devices, and Taiwan should implement similar measures, Wang said.
Even if Taiwan cannot duplicate every restriction the US has enacted against TikTok, Taipei should be able to use creative methods to “take the fight head-on” with the company, he said.
Such efforts would provide examples for the international community to follow, he added.
The most pressing issue to investigate is how the company managed to enter Taiwan despite regulations, Wang said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned