TAIWAN: GIO must OK airing of Chinese cartoon

YoYo TV consults with NCC officials to avoid controversy since main character of Chinese cartoon wears a shirt with the People's Republic of China flag on it

Taipei Times
Thursday, July 2, 2009

By Shelley Shan

The Government Information Office (GIO) must give permission for the Chinese cartoon Big-Ear Tutu to be broadcast in Taiwan before it can be aired, the National Communications Commission said yesterday.

The cartoon features a three-year-old boy named Tutu, who wears a T-shirt with the People's Republic of China (PRC) flag on it and whose favorite question is "Why?"

YoYo TV, the children's television station that wants to introduce the cartoon to Taiwan, said in a report in the Chinese-language China Times yesterday that it would consult with commission officials to avoid controversy.

Chien Hsu-cheng, deputy director of the commission's Communication Content Department, said that any broadcasts of Chinese TV shows must follow the regulations set by the Mainland Affairs Council.

The GIO has the right to approve or disapprove the programs.

Article 37 of the Act Governing Relations between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area stipulates that "any publication, motion picture, video program, or radio or television program may be permitted to be broadcast or displayed in Taiwan, and the GIO is the administrative authority to grant permission."

The GIO's ruling, however, must be submitted to the Executive Yuan for final approval.

The council also stipulated separate regulations governing the execution of this article.

Chinese TV programs cannot be aired in Taiwan if they disseminate communism, disrupt public order and customs, or violate any other law.

The programs must not highlight icons or symbols of the PRC, though the context of where the icons or symbols are shown will be taken into account.

Date Posted: 7/2/2009