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Union warns HK over
Next Media deal
NO CERTAINTY: The Taiwan News Media Trade Union
told the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong to inspect huge problems
related to the Next Media deal
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The Taiwan News Media Trade Union yesterday sent a letter to the Securities and
Futures Commission of Hong Kong and warned that the pending deal in which a
Taiwanese consortium is to buy the Next Media Group could jeopardize the
interests of the group’s Hong Kong shareholders.
Given that the deal could be rejected by Taiwan’s National Telecommunications
Commission (NCC), and the unresolved labor disputes between Next Media founder
Jimmy Lai (黎智英) and his employees, the union urged the commission to conduct the
necessary inspections and disclose its findings to the group’s shareholders in
Hong Kong.
Next Media Ltd, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, has agreed to
sell its businesses in Taiwan to Formosa Plastics Group chairman William Wong
(王文淵), Chinatrust Charity Foundation chairman Jeffrey Koo Jr (辜仲諒) and Want Want
China Times Group chairman Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明) for NT$17.5 billion (US$601.2
million).
However, the commission has so far only disclosed the date of the acquisition
and omitted disclosing the uncertainty of the deal being inked, which could harm
Hong Kong shareholders’ interests, TNMTU president Chen Hsiao-yi (陳曉宜) said in
the letter.
The NCC could reject the deal for a number of reasons, Chen said.
It could be rejected if found to violate the principle of the separation of the
financial sector and media, Chen said.
She added that Tsai and Koo’s qualification for ownership was also in question,
as Tsai already controls various media businesses in Taiwan and has repeatedly
interfered with newsroom autonomy in the past, while Koo has been sentenced to
nine years in jail in a corruption case.
Next Media Taiwan laid off more than 10 percent of its employees before the deal
was announced, prompting several employees to complain to the labor authorities
and ask for negotiations to protect their rights and interests, Chen said.
Additionally, Lai has not yet responded to the demands made by four unions under
Next Media Taiwan for negotiating a collective labor agreement, as well as
negotiating an editorial agreement protecting workers’ rights and journalistic
autonomy, Chen added.
Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) joined
her party’s calls yesterday, saying that a media monopoly could jeopardize
freedom of speech and media outlets should not be controlled by conglomerates.
“It appears that Taiwanese society has yet to realize that the influence of
certain interest groups or parties is the most serious threat to media in
Taiwan. That could be dangerous. There would be no democracy in Taiwan if there
was no independent media and freedom of speech,” Tsai said in Greater Tainan.
The DPP voiced strong opposition to the deal on Monday and is mulling further
collaboration with civic groups to block the acquisition.
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