Chinese over-the-top (OTT) service provider iQiyi cannot register as a provider in Taiwan after the Mainland Affairs Council declared it to be an illegal service, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday.
Both iQiyi and WeTV were deemed to be illegal Chinese OTT operators in an interdepartmental meeting on Friday last week, officials said, adding that this prohibits them from marketing their services in Taiwan or seeking subscribers.
The government plans to block a local server that iQiyi has been using to transmit content to domestic audiences, which would disrupt its content transmission.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
OTT Entertainment Ltd, which is enlisted by iQiyi to handle subscription-related affairs in Taiwan, on Monday said that its local service platform does not disseminate political content, adding that it has invested more than NT$1 billion (US$33.38 million) in content production.
NCC spokesman Hsiao Chi-hung (蕭祈宏) said that the council decided that iQiyi breached the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) by offering an OTT TV service, which the act does not permit Chinese to invest in.
Taiwanese OTT operators are not allowed to launch such services in China, he added.
A commission draft act on OTT TV services would require all legal OTT operators to register with the commission, although iQiyi is no longer a legal operator, he said.
Commission officials said that iQiyi’s Taipei office was set up under a company legally registered with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Qiyi.com Hong Kong Ltd.
The company streams content over a server that it leases from a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based global content delivery network, Akamai Technologies, whose clients include YouTube and Netflix, they said, adding that tackling the issue would be difficult from a technical perspective.
To resolve the controversies surrounding iQiyi, Hsiao said that the council would need to amend the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area so that investments from Hong Kong and China are equated if related, something used to revoke iQiyi’s business registration in the nation.
Also, the ministry would need to amend regulations so that Taiwanese companies would be banned from offering prohibited services in Taiwan, as such a change is needed so that Akamai could drop iQiyi as a client, Hsiao added.
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
SIX SUBSIDIES: The monthly allowance for older farmers is to increase to NT$10,000, and NT$5,000 is to be given to homemakers under the national pension system, Lai said The government is to implement major welfare policies for disadvantaged groups, including raising the monthly allowance for older farmers to NT$10,000 and providing homemakers with NT$5,000 per month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks during a visit to Wangling Temple in Chiayi County, saying that the planned increases were being introduced amid economic growth and an increase in tax revenue. Touting a policy, in which the government plans to provide a monthly allowance of NT$5,000 for every child under the age of 18 in a bid to address Taiwan’s low birthrate, Lai said that if received for the
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
RSS