Hundreds of angry parents protest in front of the Taiwan office of Next Media Ltd's Apple Daily in Taipei yesterday to voice their outrage at the animated news service on the newspaper's website, which uses graphic computer animation to "illustrate" news, especially stories about violent or sexual crimes. The identical signs in Chinese read: I am sick of the animated news. CNA

TAIPEI: The Taipei city government announced yesterday that Next Media will be given a second fine of NT$500,000 in as many days for violating the Children and Youth Welfare Law by posting obscene motion graphic news on one of its websites that day.

In addition, the city government decided that all primary, secondary schools and libraries in the city will be prohibited from subscribing to the Apple Daily until the motion graphic news observes the rating regulations for Internet content.

After imposing the first fine a day earlier, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-ping said in a press conference that the city government respects the freedom of the press.

He also urged the "National Communications Commission" (NCC) to set up specific guidelines on how to handle motion graphics news as soon as possible.

City government officials said Next Media had also been told to correct its practice of providing a serial code on Apple Daily's front page that can be used as a password giving access to all motion graphic news on the Apple Daily's website.

Hau said the city government's Department of Education will ask teachers and students not to circulate Apple Daily on campuses and said the newspaper's website access will be blocked for schools.

Next Media, publisher of the Chinese-language Apple Daily in Taiwan and Hong Kong, started its online motion graphic news service November 16. Its reports about murders, sexual assaults and suicides, presented with often disturbing motion graphics and narration, drew immediate complaints and stirred anger among many civic groups.

Several civic groups staged a protest in front of Taiwan's Apple Daily's office building yesterday, demanding that the newspaper establish self-discipline guidelines within two weeks and stop producing motion graphic news about sexual assaults, sexual harassments, child abuse and domestic violence.

However, the Apple Daily's editorial management did not accept those requests and instead issued a statement expressing their willingness to accept criticism and saying that they had stopped posting controversial news content and would not present controversial news in a sensational manner in the future.

Meanwhile, Next Media published a statement in that day's edition of Apple Daily, drawing a clear line between its controversial motion graphic news and its TV stations, for which it is seeking NCC approval.

It said the motion graphic news belongs to Apple Daily's mobile phone and website service and has nothing to do with its new TV stations.

The NCC has been discussing the case with various departments and will make an announcement on the case next week, an NCC official said.

The previous day NCC Chairwoman Peng Yun had said the NCC will take the issue into consideration when it examines the Next Media TV license application in early December, while NCC Vice Chairman Chen Cheng-tsang said the group is very unlikely to obtain a TV news license if it wants to deliver news containing motion graphics.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 11/27/2009 page2)