Protesters criticize NCC over CTi NewsPRESS FREEDOM URGED: The NCC’s ruling was a warning to media outlets not to defy the government, a former GIO director during Chen Shui-bian’s administration saidBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterDozens of CTi News’ supporters yesterday rallied outside the National Communications Commission (NCC) in Taipei to protest the commissioners’ decision on Wednesday not to renew the news channel’s license. Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei TimesThe commission even told the public which channel should replace CTi News in the channel No. All media owners try to influence the content of their outlet, and CTi News was no exception, she said. Tien reportedly told officers that he was angry that the commission denied CTi News’ license renewal application. CTi News can continue airing programs until Dec. 11, when its license expires, the commission said.

Tactical drone production might start in 2024: MNDBy Dennis Xie / Staff writer, with CNAThe indigenous Tengyun, an uncrewed tactical reconnaissance and combat drone, is expected to enter mass production by 2024, Ministry of National Defense (MND) officials told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee yesterday. Developed by the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, the drone completed its initial test flight in April 2018. A Tengyun drone developed by the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology undergoes testing in Hualien County on Sept. 16. Photo: Yu Tai-lang, Taipei TimesEvaluations of military operation capabilities are required before production can start, Chang said, adding that the process would take about one-and-a-half years. The MQ-9B is a strategic drone with high flight endurance and long-range reconnaissance capabilities, Chang said, adding that the US model would complement the Tengyun, which is a tactical drone.

“Everyone in the IT industry uses them to protect our high tech, especially servers and hard drives,” he says. ’KUAI KUAI CULTURE’It’s difficult to exaggerate the ubiquity of the product and its perceived power to protect tech. Engineers placed bags of Kuaikuai at the base of a model of the Falcon 9 rocket, which carried the Formosat 5, Taiwan’s first domestically developed satellite, into space. As with many beliefs surrounding magic, techies say that Kuaikuai possesses tangible properties that ensure it will maintain tech. Similar to the media endlessly reporting on temples like Tzunanagong, so too has there been a litany of reports about the efficacy of Kuaikuai to protect tech.

This was the first time since it was established in 2006 that the commission denied a license renewal to a news channel. NCC Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) announced the landmark decision at the commission’s weekly media briefing. National Communications Commission Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang in Taipei yesterday announces the commission’s decision to reject CTi News’ license renewal application. During the news conference, Chen was bombarded with questions from reporters, particularly by CTi News journalists. In a statement released after the NCC’s decision, RSF said freedom of the press does not mean an absence of oversight.

Groups pan higher subsidies for gas-powered scootersBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterEnvironmental groups yesterday criticized the government for spending more subsidies on gasoline-powered scooters than on electric ones, questioning its resolve to combat air pollution and promote sustainability. Former EPA deputy minister Thomas Chan (詹順貴) said that the Cabinet under Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) has reduced its efforts to combat air pollution. The EPA’s air pollution control fund, with an annual budget of NT$7 billion to NT$8 billion, should stop subsidizing vehicles that cause air pollution, he said. While the Cabinet in 2018 said that it aims to ban the sale of gasoline-powered scooters by 2035 and gasoline-powered vehicles by 2040, the goals were dropped after Su assumed office, Chan said. The government should stick to those goals, Tsai said, adding that as of September, the market share of such scooters was only 10 percent.

MediaTek supplies its 5G chip, Dimensity 800, to Honor phones. Novatek supplies integrated circuits for Honor displays, while Sensortek supplies optical sensors, it said. Huawei annually shipped between 60 million and 70 million Honor phones over the past few years, the consultancy said. Asked about potential shipments to Honor, MediaTek chief executive officer Rick Tsai (蔡力行) said that the company is assessing the situation. MediaTek last month forecast that global 5G smartphone shipments would experience a high-speed growth next year, more than doubling from this year’s 200 million units.

Pan-green camp lauds NCC decision‘DEFENSIVE DEMOCRACY’: Upholding the freedom of expression does not mean using disinformation to sabotage the nation’s political system, DPP Legislator Lin I-chin saidBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterLawmakers from the pan-green camp yesterday cited the need to protect democracy from fabricated news as they endorsed the National Communications Commission’s (NCC) decision not to renew the operating license of CTi News. People can look up the many cases of CTi News’ violations,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) said. “On the contrary, not renewing the license for CTi News works for the protection of Taiwan’s freedom and democracy,” she said. “Now the NCC has decided not to renew the license for CTi News. Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) said that people have seen the background of the NCC’s decision.

Sustainability indices include CTBCStaff writerCTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) earlier this week said that the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) have once again selected the company as a component of the DJSI World Index and have for the fifth consecutive year listed it on the DJSI Emerging Markets Index. As one of the leading financial institutions in Asia, CTBC Financial hopes to become a model of corporate sustainability, Wu said. In responding to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, CTBC Financial said that it has adopted a transparent governance policy and a responsible environmental attitude. CTBC Financial said that it also participates in international initiatives. In July, the insurance unit released the first PRI report in the financial industry, and it plans to publish a PSI report by the end of this year, CTBC Financial said.

Inaugural Creative Content Fest opens in TaipeiBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe inaugural Taiwan Creative Content Fest, with the theme of Human Touch — A Closer Future, is being held by the Taiwan Creative Content Agency through Sunday, connecting nearly 300 buyers from around the world with more than 600 works from Taiwan. A total of 362 original works from 84 publishers, and 263 film and television productions from 75 companies are featured, it said. From left, Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te, Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang, Vice President William Lai, Taiwan Creative Content Agency chairperson Ting Hsiao-ching and actress Chung Hsin-ling launch the Taiwan Creative Content Fest in Taipei’s Xinyi District yesterday. Photo: Chen Yu-hsun, Taipei TimesThe newly created fair, which officially launched on Tuesday, is part of the agency’s efforts to promote the development of Taiwan’s content industry and boost the nation’s cultural brand. “Story Exchange” — one of three exhibitions at the fair — is being held on the second floor of Le Meridien Taipei through 5pm tomorrow.

Fewer firms in need of COVID-19 relief: MOEABy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterThe number of manufacturers seeking COVID-19-related government assistance declined sharply in the third quarter thanks to improving exports, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-Hua (王美花) said yesterday. “We predict that the conference and exhibition industry will continue to be affected by the COVID-19 conditions worldwide,” Wang said. Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-Hua speaks at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei yesterday. The ministry has been supporting local businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic by subsidizing their wages and operating expenses. Under the terms of the relief package, the ministry would subsidize up to 40 percent of companies’ full-time payroll, with a cap of NT$20,000 per month per employee.

At an investors’ conference in Taipei, the conglomerate said that Bank SinoPac’s (永豐銀行) net profit increased 25 percent annually in the third quarter to NT$2.85 billion (US$99.1 million). In the first two quarters of this year, the banking unit’s net profit fell 15 percent from a year earlier due to less interest income and investment losses caused by market volatility. Photo: Kelson Wang, Taipei TimesIts net interest income rose 15 percent annually to NT$4.42 billion last quarter, as it focused on loans with higher margins, such as green loans, personal loans and lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). Overall, Bank SinoPac’s cumulative net profit dropped 3.2 percent year-on-year to NT$7.63 billion for the first three quarters, its parent company said. However, SinoPac Financial’s securities arm, SinoPac Securities Co (永豐金證券), saw its net profit jump 72 percent year-on-year to NT$1.01 billion last quarter, as its capital gains and net fee income increased.

TPP urges probe of Executive YuanFAKE NEWS: Lai Hsiang-ling urged the Control Yuan to probe whether the Executive Yuan hired staffers to create placards or memes in a bid to spread false informationBy Hsieh Chun-lin and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus yesterday urged the Control Yuan to investigate whether the Executive Yuan breached administrative neutrality by launching smear campaigns against opposition parties. Members of the Taiwan People’s Party caucus file a case with the Control Yuan yesterday against former Executive Yuan spokesman Ting Yi-ming and his staff, accusing them of breaching administrative neutrality. TPP caucus whip Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) urged the Control Yuan to probe whether the Executive Yuan hired staff to create placards or memes in a bid to spread false information, and whether the office of the Executive Yuan spokesman has been downgraded to a mouthpiece of the government. In response, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Li Meng-yen (李孟諺), who is filling the post vacated by Ting, said that the Executive Yuan has always seen clarifying untrue or misleading information as one of its main responsibilities. In any cases of careless or misleading information, the Executive Yuan would promptly issue corrections and not shy away from apologizing, Li added.

Environmental groups demand EPA head resignUNPOPULAR: The agency under Chang Tzi-chin has delayed amendments to air quality standards and reneged on a vow to cut pollution, an activist saidBy Chung Li-hua and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerEnvironmental groups yesterday demanded that Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Minister Chang Tzi-chin (張子敬) step down, saying that the agency’s policies run counter to its mission to protect the environment. Despite the Democratic Progressive Party being in power and holding a legislative majority, it has done nothing to improve the protection of the environment, Taiwan Environmental Protection Union Taitung branch office director Lee Wei-chun (李偉俊) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. Representatives of the Changhua Environmental Protection Union and other environmental groups hold a news conference at the Legislative Yuan yesterday, demanding that Environmental Protection Administration Minister Chang Tzi-chin resign. Union Changhua County branch executive secretary-general Wu Hui-chun (吳慧君) said that more than 40 environmental groups signed a petition in May calling for Chang to step down, a sign that he is widely unpopular. Yeh suggested that if Su continued to support such an unpopular minister, perhaps the premier should resign instead.

KMT launches e-commerce platformBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth Department yesterday launched a new e-commerce initiative on the party’s Line account. The KMT is the “first political party to set up an e-commerce center” in Taiwan, the party said in a statement. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang, center, promotes KMT-themed souvenirs at a news conference in Taipei to launch the party’s e-commerce platform. In addition to clothing and accessories, the Youth Department would design other items for special holidays and events, it said. Every order placed on the platform represents support for the KMT’s ideas and vision, and for young KMT members, he said.

F-16 goes missing off the east coastMEMORIAL SERVICE: President Tsai spoke at a service at Chihhang Air Base to honor captain Chu Kuan-meng, who died after ejecting from his F-5E on Oct. 29Staff writer, with CNAAn air force F-16 jet went missing off the east coast of Taiwan last night, and search and recovery operations were ongoing as of press time, the Ministry of National Defense said. An air force F-16A jet, number 6672, takes off from Hualien Air Base in Hualien County yesterday afternoon in a photograph taken by an aviation fan. President Tsai Ing-wen speaks at a memorial service for air force captain Chu Kuan-meng at the Chihhang Air Base in Taitung County yesterday. Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei TimesAt the Chihhang base service, Tsai presented a citation to Chu’s widow and thanked the 29-year-old pilot for his dedication and the sacrifices he made to protect the nation. Chu is to be interred at the air force Martyrs’ Shrine in New Taipei City.