Taipei, Jan. 11 (CNA) A Chinese New Year party was presented by the New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) Wednesday in Taipei as the television station prepared to begin operations in Taiwan.
NTDTV hosted its "2006 Chinese New Year Global Gala" at the Taipei Cultural Center and will present the same show Thursday.
"This event shows that the NTDTV has arrived and hopefully, we can win the hearts of the Taiwan people, " NTDTV Taiwan Preparatory Office Director Huang Hsiao-ming said.
The third edition of the year-end showcase will be shown in 17 cities throughout the world, expanding from five cities in the first year and seven in the second year. "The global gala features traditional Chinese art and a traditional Chinese look, " said Huang, who is also the producer of the show.
Established in North America and headquartered in New York City, NTDTV began preparations to enter the Taiwan cable TV market about a year ago, Huang said. The expected launch date of January was postponed due to the transitional period of the Government Information Office (GIO) and the National Communication Council (NCC), which will replace GIO as the highest governing body of national communication.
The preparatory office is negotiating with cable television service providers on the stocking fee issue, which is why there will be no exact date and coverage area announced any time soon, Huang added.
China news and political analysis on China will be the main focus of NTDTV's programs. "But we will also produce local content for the Taiwanese audience, " said Huang. "All our programs follow the motto 'Know the truth, ' which means we will tell the audience nothing but the truth, without prejudgment or political preference," he claimed.
NTDTV describes itself as an international, independent and non-profit Chinese language television station in the introduction on its official Web site. Its programs can also be accessed via the Internet.
The station employs over 60 reporters in more than 50 cities around the world and is currently available in North America, Australia, Asia and Europe, reaching over 200 million viewers worldwide.
Never afraid to expose China's internal problems, NTDTV has been banned from broadcasting in China by the Chinese government.