Newspapers in Taiwan

Lai takes his leave

The sale of the island’s most popular daily causes an outcry

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Readers' comments


James AntiBr

Apple Daily brought the truth out (see link below)

Taiwan should follow Epoch Times example by
creating both an online and offline presence
in many countries.

1)It would give readers Taiwan side of the story
2)It would allow Taiwanese writers and press to
reach a broaders audience
3)It would allow embedded advertising about Taiwan's
technological prowess and fabulous sites.
4)It could follow a similar formula as Epoch Times,
but a little more fine tuned than the ET commentaries
on Communist Party.

It would be cool if it would incorporate some satire
and cartoons like this from NMA World Edition.

If anyone is interested in starting a new tabloid, I
would like to help the best I can.


Compares to "Ma the Bumbler", I personally think that this article is in fact much more serious than the previous one.
The media in Republic of China has been taken over by the pro-PRC group and the media of a third country probably is the only channel we can talk about this issue. Therefore, I’m so shock that this paper has "only 22 comments."

I think the timing of the leaves by Lai is "weird" especially the recent brainwash program just ceased in Hong-Kong. If I’m Lai, I’m definitively not going to leave at this moment to let PRC increase the media control in ROC. Obviously, Lai's leave is one of the under table negotiation to stop the brainwash program. Freedom does not come free. It’s something people need to fight for, so I hope all of the people in Taiwan can stand up for this not just the young.

If PRC's condition is that good, ROC is definitely not going to oppose unification. However, it’s definitely not the case right now. Economic transformation and political reform is not been done yet. We don't even know when it’s going to be done and how it’s going to be done. The only thing that we know is its certain not going to happen at least within 20 years. Not to mention, if ROC unified with PRC before the transformation and the transformation comes with blood. Who we should blame?

I personally really don’t understand why people in the China keeps insist this unification. Nationalism? Racism? Patriotism? None of these can be serving as a reason to take over somewhere one doesn’t belong. Those just made up by politics and brainwash their citizen to believe it exists.

RollingWave in reply to guest-ieaslms

Lai's attempt at going into TV was the main problem here, the paper and magazine was profitable but the TV created a big black hole as they went very high end (to the degree that quite a few American shows routinely use their stuff, especially in comedy ) but couldn't get licencing approval here in Taiwan... you could argue that was some Beijing backed trick but the content was justifiably provocative as well.


If the paper is doing so well already, it's hard to see why Tsai would mess with the formula. Doesn't he want to make money? Unless of course Beijing is giving him the cash to buy and shut down the paper, which is a little hard to believe.

On the other hand, you have SCMP in Hong Kong which has had a lot of problems with their new Ed in Chief, who seems like a Beijing stooge. Many of their previous, high quality reporters have been forced out and personally I've noticed the SCMP take a more pro-Beijing line than it used to. With no real competition for an English newspaper in Hong Kong, it hasn't lost a lot of market share despite this, which is troubling. Still, Apple Daily actually DOES have competition, so this might force it to retain enough of it's own style, so it doesn't become a clone of China Times.

At the end of the day, you can't blame Mr Lai for selling the company. Why should he be forced into holding onto a loss-making newspaper in the name of freedom of speech? That's quite an unfair burden to ask him to bear. Perhaps he can use the funds from the sale to start a new, better project in Taiwan. Print media isn't doing well these days, so maybe he can reach an even bigger audience with a digital news platform that continues to promote his ideals while turning a profit.


Apples daily have been a mix blessing for Taiwan at best, it is dubious if their neutrality on politics (which is also debatable to an extend) is significant enough to justify their general sacrifice on professional journalism and morality. essentially they reach the same place as other badly politically biased media only for different motives and means.

They have been caught more than a few times reporting blatantly untrue stories, espically the magazine offshoot of Lai's media empire is notorious for such things.

I should put that, I've read Tsai family's China times often enough, they show a lean towards Beijing but it's certainly not an outright properganda white wash. plenty of negative reports / criticisim them (and the relatively more pro Beijing ruling party here) is abundent, and if anything, the most annoying things recently have been Tsai's apparent attempt to promote himself rather than any sort of Bejing properganda.

That being said, the alternatives are hardly more inspring, before Apple daily took off in Taiwan Liberty Times dominated the market for close to 40 percent of the share out of the 3 major papers, it's owner is a notorious property developer and have largely used the paper to slam political opponents, be they the KMT or DPP pols that disagree with them.

Ironically, it is the two now smaller (well before China time was bought the Tsai family anyway) supposedly pro China paper that were at the for front of the struggle during the later days of Taiwan's authoritarian stage. But they were ran by families who really based their business on journalism. which is apparently no match for businessmen in other sectors.

Mr. Koo who lead the purchase was also mixed up in former President Chen's various corruption scandals, and was in exile in Japan just a few years ago, so it's a gloomy outlook all around.


According to Hong Kong's experience, usually those media that have been covertly bought out by pro-Beijing groups, i.e. ATV and Sing Pao, would suffer drastic drop in readership and viewership.

So if Apple Media becomes less critical in Taiwan, the readers should shun the newspaper by instinct.

My impression is that Jimmy Lai figures out Taiwan's environment is not favorable to him and he does not feel at home in Taiwan. Next Media's reports always bring litigation in both Hong Kong and Taiwan. In Taiwan, Next Media always lost the lawsuits but in Hong Kong it rarely lost. Moreover, Next Media's office in Taiwan has been raided by police but its Hong Kong office has never been.


In a nutshell, Lai's leaving Taiwan media market was carefully calculated by cunning Lai for strictly business reasons, judging from the price tag of the sale which was viewed as at least 60% higher premium than its fair market value. The hell with freedom of press in Taiwan as far as Mr. Lai's concerns.

To deny that Beijing is behind the takeover, Mr. Tsai and Mr. Koo, etc., are challenging the intelligence of Taiwanese readers. The Tsai family made its billions of RMB in China, and the Koo family is desperately eyeing to expand their banking/financing business in China. To tell Taiwanese and the world that their capital money buying Lai's media is clean and that every penny was honestly earned is okay though their credibility remains to be scrutinized, but please don't fool anyone that the communist big brother in Beijing will not flex the muscles when needed to force a self-censored mentality among these pro-China business tycoons when it comes to media coverage in Taiwan.

Once again, political correctness is a sure thing, especially in the totalitarian China, to protect the best interests of these guys' business empire in China. It is just raw and cruel business reality.

At the end of the day, it is up to the Taiwanese, whether they are willing to swallow the pill at the expense of their hard-earned freedom of press, and democracy.

吴 宇星

I hold the view that the new generation leaders of China will not shake its faith and strategy of the cross-straits peaceful reunification. The action that pro-Beijing publishers took over Taiwan's influential newspaper press reveals that Beijing has realized the crucial step is to deepen the concept that Taiwan is part of China into Taiwanese's heart, and give them an unconsciously influence. Beijing hope maybe in the next decade, with the help of those pro-Beijing main publishers in Taiwan, Taiwan's attitude towards China will not as tough as right now, and when the time comes, when China is more powerful and peaceful, maybe Taiwan is going to sit down and negotiate the details of its return with China.


this magazine so far puts great attention to Taiwan. Are you trying to open the Taiwanese market for your magazine's sell? aren't you take the business that doesn't belongs to you british?


The Chinese character and the Taiwanese character are not that different -- greedy over little things, unprincipled in big things. The Chinese are eager to offer bribes to the Taiwanese shakers and movers. The Taiwanese shakers and movers are eager to be the Chinese running dogs, selling out the budding democracy that is Taiwan. This is the "manliness" of the East Asian character -- to bend to the prevailing wind.


A problem with Taiwanese democracy is that there are many Taiwanese (especially in its upper class) who want their conscience to be bought by totalitarian China; and their asking price is not that high. Those people already have American/Canadian/Australian passports arranged, if not for their own persons, then at least for their offsprings.
Totalitarian China, of course, recognizes a good deal when there's one and eagerly obliges.

pig in media

May be it is the end of an era, however, people in Taiwan (and also Hong Kong people) should thanks Jimmy Lai, for his effort to defend the freedom of press for so many years.


The sale is obviously about increasing Beijing's influence in Taiwan's media. The WantWant/Tsai group is rabidly pro-Beijing. Even worse, they have already deployed their news media against critics. See this Taipei Times report from a few months ago:

The Economist should have been clearer on who Jeffrey Koo, Jr is: the scion of a powerful family with tight links to the KMT power structure. It was he who testified that the Koos had bribed former President Chen Shui-bian, and he was given a nine-year sentence for financial shenanigans, whereupon he jumped bail and fled to Japan. An apparent deal brought him back to provide crucial testimony against the former President.

The Ministry of Education circulated a letter on the students who were protesting. Amazing students, they are the future of Taiwan.

The buyout deal has this particular structure to get around regulatory demands. As I explain here:


Adrien Tang

Lai's media has been reporting many scandals of celebrity and politicians. Taiwanese readers are very concerned about the takeover. We definitely don't want to see Apple Daily lose its original and critical point of view.

Giant Tortoise iawmaij

The deal surprised me. J Lai is not a person that hated by Beijing. Why would Lai sell his paper to a party that he has bad blood with? I am more likely to believe Murdock family to buy Lai's paper than Beijing folks buying Lai's paper.

To be honest - Apple Daily (at least the HK version - owned by Lai as well) is a horrible paper. Apple Daily is the Daily Mirror and New York Post of the East.

At least we are not talking about NHK News or SCMP got sold to some Beijing insider. That would be next worse to end-of-the-world for Far East news reporting...

Apple Daily is a bloodsucking paper it's true. But they didn't afraid of power(rich guys or government). They uncover many corruption scandals and expose the behavior of companies trying to cover up the harm people or the environment pollution.
They always reported the news that the other television afraid to reports. But the new buyers of Apple Daily are from all walks of life(Food, petrochemicals, banking, insurance, funeral and construction industry..etc). One of new buyers, a CEO of Want Want, Mr. Tsai, who control a half of Taiwan's Media(He always use television and newspaper to embellish himself. Like this: ). They can use newspaper to cheat people, beautification group, brainwashing ideology. Almost newspapers offices are covering and agree this case together (just one newspaper office against).
If they always hide the truth and some people didn't check each case. Days a long time, more people will be cheated by them and trust their lies.
Or you can check this news if you want to know every buyers background:

Truth on Taiwan

We have power to reject be brainwashing by Want Want. We need more ugly truth not more fake harmony. Taiwan's media and government didn't talk a lot and try to hide this things, but we will fight for our right. When we were protesting on Legislative Yuan, we call to the KMT. The KMT didn't want go out to listen our demands, they just said "We don't know you are fighting."(but they put barricades out of the door avoid we break into). The government should protect poor people to avoid bully by rich guys. I am so sad for this government. They always help rich guys to let themselves became a rich guy(and loop...).
This site is about Taiwan's people for we demands government to avoid what financial group monopolize Taiwan's media. If you are interested you can check this.


Next Media and Apple Daily News have been bought by the rich Taiwan enterprises. It represents two meanings:1)These four or three esteemed entrepreneurs have sold out their souls to surrender to Communist China Government to want to serve their will for using the best tool---Mass Media to wash brain to Taiwan people for unification in future decades. 2)Present government is not a truely open mind government to give mass media a wide road to go, thus Lai makes a decision to leave Taiwan.


An official document from Taiwanese ministry of education was sent today to 37 universities around the country. It says that the school should take "special concern" on students who participated in the anti-media monopolization protest in front of the Congress yesterday. I'm a 21 years old Taiwanese, and I was proud of our country's achievement on human rights and democracy. Yet I'm afraid that my child may not have a chance to share the same feeling. My tears can't stop falling when I'm typing. Please share this article. Please let Mr. Tsai know that there are things you can not buy even if you are the richest man, and that is the right to live free.


I started to read the newspaper and magazine of Mr. Lai's company since he started his business in Taiwan. I loved both of them. I know the content of the newspaper and magazine is not perfect, but I think it dare to tell the truth, not like other major newspapers in Taiwan which always prefer specific parties. I am very sad that Mr. Lai has no choice to sell his company (the reason is obvious even he didn't want to say in an interview). The Apple daily Taiwan will be totally different under Mr. Tsai (His style is obvious in all his media products). Without the original newspaper and magazine of Lai, I don't know where to find a news source of Taiwan which is neutral and influential, sigh.


If The Economist is so enamored by Apple's "blessings" -- then it should approach Mr. Lai and solicit his interest in buying the magazine -- tabloid-style reporting seems quite suited to the British.



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