Popular Taiwan TV channel blasted for airing gangster's video

Mar 28, 2007, 14:59 GMT

Taipei - Taiwan's most popular cable television channel TVBS came under criticism Wednesday for reportedly trying to boost its popularity by airing a video in which a gangster challenged police and one of his rivals.

The channel admitted in a statement that two of its reporters had produced the video and 'were sacked after we found out'. 'We apologize to the public for our negligence in news censor,' TBVS said.

TVBS aired the five-minute recording of Chou Cheng-pao, a notorious gangster in Taichung, central Taiwan, challenging the police and another gangster, Liu Rei-rong on Tuesday.

The footage, shot in a motel room, showed Chou sitting in a bed with guns and rifles lying in front of him as he admitted to participating in three recent gun battles in Taichung and voiced grievances against Liu.

'If I see you again,I will kill you!' Chou shouted into the camera while, waving a pistol and pulling the trigger.

The video sent shockwaves across Taiwan and left many people fearing for their safety and doubting whether police or gangsters were in control.

TVBS claimed that Chou had made the tape himself and sent it to the channel.

But on Wednesday afternoon, local press found out that two TVBS reporters had shot the video for Chou in the motel room.

Other media outlets denounced the channel for faking news to boost its popularity, while the Government Information Office (GIO) called on the nation to condemn TVBS's actions.

'By producing the fake video for Chou Cheng-pao, TVBS became a tool in his crime. This self-degrading act deserves our strongest condemnation,' GIO Director Cheng Wen-tsan said.

'I will recommend that the National Communications Commission probe it and hand down penalties,' he added.

It was not clear Wednesday whether TVBS executives had approved the scam or if they were kept in the dark as the TVBS statement claimed.

Since Taiwan dropped restrictions on the media in the late 1980s, the country's television market has ballooned from three state- controlled TV stations to 100 24-hour cable channels, triggering fierce competition among TV companies and reporters.

In the battle for scoops and viewers, some Taiwan channels sensationalize or even fabricate news.