A DPP lawmaker yesterday challenged his KMT counterparts saying the KMT's promise of pulling out from ownership and running of local media was specious.
"The KMT's claim that they have done a better job than the DPP to advance media reform by withdrawal from local media is based on escapism," commented ranking DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁).
Chen claimed that, to date, the KMT possesses 35.87 percent of China Television Company, 96.95 percent of Broadcasting Corporation of China and controls 86.66 percent of the Chinese-language newspaper Central Daily News.
He added that the KMT actually might not be the largest shareholder of China Daily News, which has a pro-unification stance, but that it is true that pro-KMT elements control it.
"The KMT's discordance between what it claims to be reforms and not acting on its enormous media industry holdings should be condemned by the public," Chen argued.
Chen spoke one day after his fellow legislator, Trong Chai (
On Thursday, Chai offered his resignation to comply with a pledge declared by President Chen Shui-bian (
Admiring Chai's determination, DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-lang (
"The KMT should follow the mainstream opinion that political dominance in the media should be minimized," he said.
It should not tolerate the media airing hours of call-in programs blasting the government every day simply for the benefit of the opposition party on the one hand while on the other hand saying to constituents that it has a reform-initiative action plan underway, Tsai urged.
The DPP lawmaker reiterated that all members would follow the president's instruction to leave their media posts by Sept. 5. Chen is also the DPP party chairman.
KMT legislative whip Lee Chia-chin (
"The KMT maintains a policy to run media cautiously. The party headquarters has resolved this debate applying the highest standards and has implemented resolutions that meet with public expectations," Lee said.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
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