Taijing Wu, Huizhong Wu
Associated Press
Employees and supporters rallied for a Taiwanese pro-China cable news channel as it was taken off air Saturday, after the government refused to renew its license, citing accuracy issues.
CTiTV s channel 52 broadcast a countdown and then went black after midnight. The cable network, whose non-news channels were not affected, plans to continue putting news on YouTube and other digital platforms.
A large crowd chanted “Hang on, CTiTV” and held up signs reading “Thank you CTiTV, we will see you again.” Employees, some tearing up, sang songs and swayed in unison wearing matching blue windbreakers.
Cross-strait chasm seen in tycoon, media group
By Chen Kuan-Fu 陳冠甫
Two seismic events, one in Taiwan and the other in Hong Kong, have sent shock waves through the respective journalistic communities over the past month.
The event in Taiwan occurred at midnight on Dec. 11, when CTi News ceased broadcasting on cable television after its license renewal application was rejected by the National Communications Commission.
The following day, the channel’s owner, Want Want China Times Media Group founder Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), announced that CTi News would be transformed into a “new media” organization and continue broadcasting around-the-clock on YouTube.
At the time of writing, the YouTube channel had 2.27 million subscribers.
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Taiwan’s Chung Tien Television (CTiTV) went off air on midnight Friday after its broadcast license was not renewed in a move critics claim is politically motivated.
The National Communications Commission (NCC) denied CTiTV its license last month, citing “repeated violations of regulations and the failure of its internal discipline and control mechanisms.”
CTi News is known for its China-friendly viewpoints and its opposition to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). It is owned by the Want Want China Times group, which is helmed by Tsai Eng-meng, a Taiwanese businessman openly sympathetic to the Chinese government.
Numerous media reports last year alleged properties owned by Want Want received funding and editorial direction from authorities in China. Want Want has denied these claims.
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