Backers of Dismissed Chinese TV Reporter Plan Rally

Sparks are flying among members of the Taiwanese community over the replacement of a popular Chinese anchorman who aired a controversial broadcast last week about the Taiwanese premier’s visit to Los Angeles.

Supporters say Joseph Jinn, a 38-year-old reporter for KSCI Channel 18, a cable station based on the Westside, was fired because influential Taiwanese officials wanted to censor media reports that reflected unfavorably on Premier Chan Lien’s visit.

But detractors, including Jinn’s former boss, say the reporter resigned Jan. 26 rather than be fired for violating professional standards. They say Jinn editorialized during a Jan. 25 news broadcast that described the premier’s visit in disrespectful terms.

The debate is expected to intensify Saturday, when Jinn’s supporters predict that up to 300 people will attend a meeting in Monterey Park for the veteran journalist, who created the Mandarin-language news program on KSCI and hosted it for almost four years. The show reaches an estimated 260,000 viewers in Southern California.

In an interview Thursday, Jinn expressed bafflement at his termination and denied using inappropriate language or editorializing on the air.

“I’ve been fired because my reporting doesn’t please the Taiwanese government,” he said.

The controversy sprang from a news report in which Jinn recounted details of a Jan. 24 reception held for Lien at the Universal City Hilton. Although translations of the broadcast differ, Jinn said he commented that some tables were partly empty and that the premier’s speech brought the audience almost to the point of boredom. He also said that the $600,000 in emergency aid that the premier announced would be donated to victims of the Northridge earthquake was small compared to the $13 million that Taiwan has earmarked for Honduras, the premier’s next stop on his tour of the Americas.

Officials at KSCI maintain that Jinn called the premier “smug and complacent.” Additionally, the station says that Jinn described the reception as a “song and dance showcase full of undeserved praises and flattery” and used phrasing that implied the Honduras money was “political bribery.”

Dr. Yu Mo-Si, a Taiwanese community leader who supports Jinn, says 35 Chinese groups have written letters to KSCI expressing their anger at the firing and accusing the Taiwanese government of censoring freedom of expression.

Taiwanese government officials said they do not get involved with local politics. KSCI officials termed the allegation of government influence ridiculous and denied they had been pressured to fire Jinn.

“He editorialized on the air, which was totally inappropriate,” said Rosemary Danon, general manager of KSCI. “We can’t tolerate that.”