Threatening Foreign Integrity: Sanlih Fined for Fabricating 'US CIA Director Secretly Visits Taiwan' Report

On August 11, 2021, Sanlih News broadcast an 'exclusive' report claiming that US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns had arrived in Taiwan on a secret diplomatic flight, sparking intense geopolitical speculation. However, the report was swiftly refuted by both the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), exposing it as a fabricated piece of fake news. The National Communications Commission (NCC) investigated the case and determined that Sanlih had failed to perform any factual verification on an issue of high international sensitivity and national security. The NCC fined Sanlih TV 400,000 NTD, emphasizing that such reckless fabrications severely mislead the public and damage Taiwan's diplomatic credibility.