One hundred and fifty media researchers cosigned a statement this week in protest at the Want Want Group filing lawsuits against reporters and college professors it deemed hostile to its acquisition of the China Times Group.

The statement includes the signatures of professors and deans of communication colleges from 13 public and private universities around the country. Four media researchers held a press conference at the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday to release the statement and signatures.

The Want Want Group has been running advertisements in the Chinese-language China Times and Commercial Times since last month attacking the National Communications Commission (NCC) for the conditional approval it issued for Want Want’s management change at China Television Co and CTiTV.

The Want Want Group singled out three NCC commissioners who it said would be held responsible for any damage caused by the conditional approval.

In the ads, the group asked people who had made defamatory remarks about the group or its chairman, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), to apologize immediately, or else face legal charges.

Last week, Media Watch chairman Kuan Chung-hsiag (管中祥), Wealth Magazine editor Tien Hsi-ju (田習如) and Association of Taiwan Journalists chairman Leon Chuang (莊豐嘉) said they had received legal notices from Want Want.

Feng Chien-san (馮建三), a journalism professor at National Cheng­chi University, said whether the NCC had abused its authority was open to discussion.

“The action we [media researchers] take today is to condemn the Want Want Group for the damage it has caused to freedom of speech and journalism,” Feng said.

“We have collected 150 signatures within three days, and this is perhaps the first time the nation’s researchers have taken such a clear stand on a public issue,” Feng said.

Su Herng (蘇蘅), head of the journalism department at National Chengchi University, said many people wondered whether Want Want’s purchase of the China Times Group would generate an upward or a downward spiral in the media in Taiwan.

“But judging from a series of actions the China Times has taken since last year against media researchers, the acquisition seems to be destroying professional journalism and is creating a crisis for freedom of the press,” Su said.

“A dark force has emerged in the reconstruction process of the Taiwanese media,” Su added.

In response, Want Want Group spokesperson Wu Ken-cheng (吳根成) said the group respected the researchers’ knowledge and would humbly accept their opinions and criticism.

However, “Can people still claim freedom of speech if they make baseless charges that tarnish a corporation’s image?” Wu asked.