The government called for an investigation Thursday after TVBS Cable News publicly apologized for airing the video, which it originally claimed was made and sent to the station by Chou Cheng-bao, reputedly a member of the Celestial Way Gang.

A video grab shows ganster Chou Cheng-bao threatens to kill his rival. [AP]

TVBS said it fired reporters Chang Yu-kung and Shih Chen-kang after it learned they had filmed Chou themselves but hid that fact from the station.

In the video, Chou waves a pistol at a table laden with automatic and semiautomatic rifles, and says he is gunning for Liu Rei-rong, reputedly a Celestial Way boss.

"The next time I bump into you, I'll kill you," he says.

Taiwan's cable stations have long been criticized for sensationalizing crime stories to bolster ratings. Reporters, acting on tips, have filmed real shoot-outs between police and criminals.

Police have been hunting for Chou, saying he was involved in a shoot-out with other gang members at a pub in the city of Taichung early this month.

On Wednesday evening, TVBS issued a statement deploring its own acceptance of the reporters' claim that Chou had mailed them the video on a DVD.

"We are not above blame and we apologize to viewers for failing to supervise our reporters and implement news discipline," the statement said.

TVBS and Taiwan's six other 24-hour cable news stations all showed the video Tuesday.

Police has been highly suspicious of the stations' claims Chou made the video himself after obtaining a copy from TVBS.