海角大神

You may never have heard of Taiwan鈥檚 Next Media but you may have seen its handiwork while surfing television channels or online.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart聽highlighted the animation studio鈥檚 spoof on the royal wedding in 2012, and the group's poke at Tiger Woods, imitations of Al Gore, and a jab at Silvio Berlusconi鈥檚 sex scandals in Italy all went viral on the Internet.

But then in November, the media group known so well for depicting famous controversies around the world suddenly found itself at the center of its own kerfuffle at home when it announced it was for sale to a conservative business group with China connections. The news set off a chain of street demonstrations in Taiwan, drawing thousands. 聽

In Taiwan, the media tends to be heavily polarized, either bashing China or avoiding criticism of it. Independent empires such as Next Media are rare. So activists feared that the prospective buyers would take that gem away by revamping Next Media to please China and compromise its irreverent independence.

But on Wednesday, Next Media announced that the buyers had bailed. As the consortium of four buyers missed a deadline to complete the deal worked out in November, the media group sought to reassert the independent spirit that made it popular before the concern about Chinese control started looming.

It said that except for television, which has lost more than $200 million since 2003, the group is no longer for sale.

鈥淧eople鈥檚 concerns are fair and with evidence,鈥� says Leonard Chu, a retired media studies professor at National Chengchi University in Taipei, referring to protesters and skeptical academics. 鈥淲e know that China is not an open society, so that鈥檚 a reason to worry.鈥�

Of Taiwan鈥檚 six major daily papers and six mainstream cable TV channels, only three regularly raise doubts about Taiwan鈥檚 engagement with China.

The Want Want Group, a main contender to buy Next Media, controls several Taiwanese media outlets seen as warm toward Beijing, and raised fears that the politically neutral Next Media coverage would be slanted toward Beijing. But before the $586 million takeover could be finalized, a Next Media spokesman said infighting between investors crashed the deal.

鈥淭he buyers decided they don鈥檛 want to go forward,鈥� says Next Media鈥檚 commercial director Mark Simon, who added that Next Media changed its mind about selling. 鈥淭he company is not for sale anymore.鈥�

Next Media鈥檚 animated graphics, which use lifelike cartoon videos of politicians and celebrities to recreate news events, have earned the company a cult following online. Next Media鈥檚 Internet following has reached about 15 million in Taiwan and Hong Kong combined.

鈥淲hy go out and put your employees and put everybody through hell?鈥� Simon says of the decision to take the company off the market. 鈥淭V is on the way out, and we鈥檒l sell TV, but everything else here makes money. It鈥檚 a very profitable company.鈥澛�

Because of pressure from the public, Taiwan鈥檚聽broadcast authorities and the legislature are studying whether they can聽change laws to prevent media monopolies.

鈥淭he public opinions toward the purchase did play a role in keeping the government on their toes, so they can鈥檛 just not be transparent and let a deal go through,鈥� says聽Ketty Chen,聽a political scientist and visiting instructor at National Taiwan University in Taipei.

China has claimed self-ruled Taiwan since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s聽and demands that the two sides eventually reunify. Beijing has not ruled out the use of force, keeping the island on guard, despite a thaw in relations since 2008.