Professional Technology Temple (PTT), the nation’s largest online bulletin board system, announced over the weekend that it would stop reviewing new user applications to the system, because of a problem that the system administrator referred to as a “loose registration process.”
Made late on Friday night, the announcement added that halting registrations would not affect those whose applications were under review.
Another announcement would be made when the bulletin board was once again accepting user applications, the system administrator said.
Netizens speculated about what the reasons for the move were.
Some said the suspension was intended to prevent political candidates from using the bulletin board system to spread their agendas for the nine-in-one elections in November.
Others said it had to do with Su Chii-cherng (蘇啟誠), director-general of the Osaka branch of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, having committed suicide on Friday, allegedly because of harsh criticism over how the branch handled tourists stranded in Osaka following Typhoon Jebi.
Those accusing PTT articles of spreading fake news were themselves spreading fake news, PTT founder Ethan Du (杜奕瑾) said on Facebook on Saturday.
The Chinese media were the first to report that Beijing sent 15 tour buses to Kansai International Airport, he said, adding that the Chinese-language Apple Daily and Sanlih TV News picked up the story of the alleged event, highlighting it with sensationalized headlines.
Netizens exposed the report as fake news within two hours, with the Apple Daily’s follow-up story being forwarded to the PTT forum on Japan travel, Du said.
Forum user “GuRuGuRu” criticized the report based on personal experience, he added.
“The media then claimed that the PTT forum discussion was the source of the fake news. Consequently, we took the report down the day it was published,” Du said, adding that the PTT users who had actually exposed the fake news had been condemned as its perpetrators.
“I am more curious as to why this fake news persists without anyone coming forward to update or revise it,” Du said. “Is it because they want people to reread the report and blame the PTT system all over again?”
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
RSS