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.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
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