TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC, 陸委會) on Thursday (Jan. 2) announced a suspension of operations for the Chinese media outlet "Strait Daobao" (海峽導報) and its parent company, Fujian Daily Newspaper Press Group (福建日報報業集團), citing involvement in united front activities and interference in Taiwan's presidential election.
MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) revealed this decision at an afternoon press conference. He stated that the government assessed Strait Daobao's activities and found them to be politically motivated rather than purely journalistic. He highlighted that Lin Jingdong (林靖東), a committee member of the newspaper, allegedly manipulated poll data to influence the election. "We believe Strait Daobao is no longer a simple news media outlet," Liang said, confirming the suspension of its operations in Taiwan.
One of the Strait Daobao reporters is stationed in Taiwan until Jan. 23. Liang asserted that the MAC would not approve any new reporters from the media outlet, stating, "If they need to leave, they should go." He also noted that eight Chinese media outlets have 12 reporters stationed in Taiwan. This move echoes a similar incident on July 2, 2020, when MAC spokesperson Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) confirmed the revocation of credentials for two reporters from Southeast Television (東南衛視) for activities inconsistent with their permits. The reporters left Taiwan promptly after the decision.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office (國台辦) previously criticized such actions as unreasonable suppression by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) government, demanding an immediate halt to these practices.
