Fearing the approval of an application by Want Want China Times Group to purchase China Network Systems would turn the former into a “media monster” monopoly, academics held a press conference yesterday to urge the National Communications Commission (NCC) to block the acquisition.
On the eve of the second public hearing for the merger review today, academics said an Internet petition against the merger initiated by 54 academics had received the support of 78 civic groups and 2,136 individuals over six days.
Want Want China Broadband already has major newspapers, magazines, publishing firms and cable and wireless TV news channels, National Taiwan University associate professor Hung Chen-ling (洪貞玲) said, adding that if the merger with CNS was approved, a multiple system operator that operates 11 cable TV and broadband Internet services would account for about 30 percent of the total media audience in Taiwan.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Hung said academics feared the NT$70 billion (US$2.3 billion) merger attempt by the group — which has a track record of “bad behavior” for accusing NCC commissioners in its newspaper and filing suits on reporters — risked leading to high media concentration, harming freedom of the press.
Shih Jun-ji (施俊吉), a research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Social Science, said it made no sense to continue the review when three of the seven review committee members had already walked out.
“With only four members left, the committee is not competent to review this important case,” Shih said.
The academics urged the commission to stop the review process and establish an ad hoc committee including citizen representatives and specialists from various fields to investigate the case.
Hu Yuan-hui (胡元輝), an associate professor at National Chung Cheng University’s department of communications and president of the Foundation for Excellent Journalism, said that many studies showed that high media concentration undermines the quality of the media environment, not only in terms of lack of content diversity but also independence and the labor conditions of journalists.
Lin Yuan-huei (林元輝), a professor at National Chengchi University’s department of journalism, said studies have shown that the China Times has provided much more entertainment news about Want Want group’s cable channels since the last merger.
The academics said they also feared that with a large proportion of Want Want Group chairman Tsai Eng-ming’s (蔡衍明) profits being made in China, there was reason to suspect that messages favorable toward the Chinese government would affect media content in Taiwan.
“Having control over the channels also means control over their content,” Shih said, adding that the merger could affect as many as 4 million viewers if it were allowed to proceed.
Some academics also expressed support for the media to monitor government officials and political figures to protect the public interest. They criticized Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Hsieh Kuo-liang’s (謝國樑) lawsuit against Internet news source New Talk reporter Lin Chau-yi (林朝億) for reporting that Hsieh had tried to pressure the commission into approving the merger.
Association of Taiwan Journalists executive committee member Liu Ming-tang (劉明堂) said it was improper for legislators to file lawsuits against ordinary citizens to express their discontent.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The military yesterday said it has located the flight data recorder, or black box, of an F-16V jet that disappeared off eastern Taiwan earlier this month, and it would soon deploy a salvage team to try to retrieve it. Air Force Command Headquarters said that while it had pinned down the location of the black box, it was still searching for the aircraft’s sole pilot, air force Captain Hsin Po-yi (辛柏毅). Without providing details, the air force said it had located the black box days after detecting some intermittent signals and would now engage a team of professionals to retrieve it. The air
RSS