The Economic Democracy Union think tank yesterday filed a judicial complaint against two executives of the Taiwanese edition of the Apple Daily news Web site, accusing them of breaching the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法).
Apple Online, the sister Web site of Hong Kong’s now defunct Apple Daily newspaper, said on Wednesday last week that it has been sold and the handover completed.
The change of ownership has prompted concern from critics, who said the government should ensure that Apple Online does not fall into the hands of foreign owners backed by Chinese capital.
Photo: Wen Yu-te, Taipei Times
Joseph Phua (潘杰賢), a Singaporean entrepreneur who co-founded 17LIVE, a giant Asian live-streaming platform, and Hong Kong businessman Kenny Wee (黃浩) are the company’s new owners, the Chinese-language Hong Kong daily Ming Pao said.
Union convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) yesterday went to the Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office in Taipei and requested an investigation into suspected breaches of the Personal Data Protection Act by Apple Online CEO Wu Yu-ai (吳玉愛) and chief financial officer Johnny Chern (諶讚鑫).
Lai said the Ministry of Culture last year issued two injunctions regarding the company’s sale: one requiring it to refuse a court order and a request by Hong Kong authorities regarding financial matters and private information; and another prohibiting cross-border transfers of its database and personal information.
All supervisors and board members at the company quit last year, as well as most Taiwanese executives and managers, Lai said, adding that Wu is in charge of operations.
However, Wu told workers’ union representatives that she has no authority regarding the handling of the sale, Lai added.
Lai said that the people negotiating the deal are likely Hong Kong citizens Kenny Tam (譚競正) and Man King-shing (文景城), whom a Hong Kong court appointed to liquidate the Apple Daily and its news magazine holdings.
“The Taiwanese government does not accept the ruling by the Hong Kong court, and does not recognize the people who were appointed to handle the liquidation. Taiwan never approved entry by Tam and Man to carry out the liquidation and assess the company’s financial details, so how were they able to conduct and finalize the NT$1.5 billion [US$50.43 million] deal from outside Taiwan?” Lai asked.
The deal would naturally involve the transfer of the company’s records on employees’ personal information, monthly wage payments, list of debtors and business accounts, Lai said.
The most valuable is the company’s internal database on its news gathering and media work over the years, containing a large amount of personal information about reporters, interviewees, politicians, government officials, business leaders, writers and contributors, he added.
It is therefore very likely that someone in Taiwan has broken the law by allowing the transfer of this information, Lai said, adding that Wu and Chern are likely responsible, as they are in charge of operations.
The judiciary has been asked to investigate whether they had broken the Personal Data Protection Act, Lai said.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday established a friendship group with their counterparts in Ukraine to promote parliamentary exchanges between the two countries. A ceremony in Taipei for the Taiwan-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Association, initiated by DPP Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷), was attended by lawmakers and officials, including Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) and European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan Director Lutz Gullner. The increasingly dire situation in Ukraine is a global concern, and Taiwan cannot turn its back when the latter is in need of help, as the two countries share many common values and interests,
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