On December 31, 2024, the Taipei City Government held a New Year’s Eve party, attracting over 220,000 participants. However, after the event ended, some citizens were surprised to find a large screen broadcasting a program from China Central Television (CCTV). The Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China (Taiwan) pointed out that this was highly inappropriate, and the relevant authorities should apologize and review the incident.
The New Year’s Eve event at the Taipei City Government Plaza featured not only the main stage but also four diverse stages, drawing a crowd of over 220,000 people. The event concluded in the early hours of January 1st. In the early morning of January 1st, some people passing by the site of the Taipei City Government’s New Year’s Eve party were shocked to see that the large screen outside the city hall was airing a New Year’s program from China Central Television, and this scene was shared on a Facebook group. Lee Hou-ching, Secretary General of the Taiwan Culture Association, criticized this, asking, “Why broadcast a program from the Communist Party?”
On January 1st, the Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China (Taiwan) stated that it was highly inappropriate for a large-scale event organized by the Taipei City Government to broadcast programs from the Chinese Communist Party’s media outlets. This action, similar to the previous incident of military vehicles in Taichung playing CCP propaganda videos, should be acknowledged, and the relevant parties need to apologize and reflect on their actions.
The Taipei City Government’s Department of Tourism and Information Bureau stated that, upon investigation with the event organizer, TVBS Joint Communications Corporation, it was determined that this was a severe oversight by the staff. The Bureau will take necessary actions according to the terms of the contract.
TVBS issued an apology statement, explaining that after the New Year’s Eve event concluded, during the dismantling phase of the hardware equipment, a screen on Songshou Road was inadvertently connected to a backup laptop provided by the projector manufacturer. The laptop’s YouTube autoplay feature was accidentally enabled, resulting in the unplanned broadcast of non-event content.