TAIWAN

Private TV Network OKd: The government approved establishment of a network that will break a nearly three-decade government monopoly of broadcast media. The People Broadcasting Corp., capitalized at $115 million, beat Harvest Television and Asia Pacific Television Co. to gain the license for the first private network. The approval “marks a very important chapter in the history of Taiwan’s television development,” said a statement from the Taipei-based Government Information Office, which oversees the news media.