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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》Oversight of China’s iQiyi critical: Su
From left, Minister of Agriculture Chen Chi-chung , Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-chun, Premier Su Tseng-chang and Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chinattend a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
NO ASSIMILATION: Just as illegally flown drones must be downed, whatever China does to try to absorb Taiwanese must be prevented, Premier Su Tseng-chang said
By Sean Lin / Staff reporter
The nation would not allow China to assimilate Taiwanese, Premier Su Tseng-chang （蘇貞昌） said yesterday at the Legislative Yuan when Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Fan Yun （范雲） asked about iQiyi, China’s largest video-on-demand （VOD） provider.
The VOD service has become immensely popular in Taiwan, Fan said, adding that the iQiyi app has had more than 6 million downloads by Taiwanese, or one download per every three adults.
Unlike Netflix, whose operations have been approved by the National Communications Commission, iQiyi has skirted regulations and operated in Taiwan without approval for years, she said.
The commission can require companies like Netflix to reserve a portion of their content for locally produced shows and set certain requirements for the companies’ shareholding structure, which must be transparent, but the commission has no authority over iQiyi, Fan said.
Content on iQiyi is not reviewed by the Ministry of Culture, even though the Act Governing the Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area （台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例） requires the ministry to review Chinese movies, TV shows and publications, she added.
Even if the service were to provide Taiwanese programs, there would be no way of ensuring freedom of expression in their production, she said.
Fan said that she had asked the commission about regulating iQiyi, but that the commission had said the service is the responsibility of the Mainland Affairs Council, although her research has led her to believe that such companies slip through a loophole in the law.
China would do whatever it takes to absorb Taiwan, Su said, citing China’s “into the island, the homes and the brains” strategy for influencing Taiwanese.
Just as illegally flown drones must be downed, such infiltration must be prevented, he said.
Su said that he would ask Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai （陳其邁） to convene agencies to review regulations governing VOD providers and introduce legislation to close any loopholes.
“We must not allow China to achieve its goal of assimilating [the people of] Taiwan,” he said.
The commission did not deliberately sidestep regulating iQiyi, but the task requires special measures, commission Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang （陳耀祥） said.
Since undertaking the task of overseeing over-the-top content in September last year, the commission has drafted a bill on managing online audio and video services, he added.
The safeguards stipulated in the act were introduced in the pre-Internet era, so online content requires special legislation, he said, adding that the commission would likely need to consult with the ministry and the council before arriving at a solution.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
