iQIYI Photo: cnsphoto

 
One of the biggest video streaming platforms in the Chinese mainland, iQIYI, will cease cooperation with its agent on the island of Taiwan, OTT Environment, which is believed to be a result of the political situation on the island.

OTT Environment, which has a partnership with iQIYI to promote and sell its services in Taiwan, announced via a Facebook post that due to the long-term unfriendly attitude of the Taiwan authorities, iQIYI decided not to renew the contract with OTT at the end of 2021 when it expires, officially ending the business cooperation.

“This is a painful decision and the inevitable result of political forces overriding everything,” said OTT in the statement, adding that the services provided by iQIYI to its users will not be interrupted.

Whether or not iQIYI can be used legally in Taiwan has been the focus of discussion recently. The island’s economic authorities started to introduce laws to block it from September 2020. The chairman of OTT was also interviewed by the authorities earlier in 2021.

Earlier in September, the Taiwan economic affairs authorities issued an order to prohibit individuals and organizations in Taiwan from working with the Chinese mainland video streaming companies, preventing them from “operating illegally” on the island through local agents and distributors. 

Following the ban, OTT Entertainment said that it stopped providing member management and brand services to iQIYI the day the ban took effect, and that it will also stop providing customer service to iQIYI users on the island starting October 15.

Taiwan media outlets have also questioned the rationality of banning mainland video platforms on the island. An editorial published in the China Times was titled, "Do the Taiwanese authorities have to fear mainland TV series?"

iQiyi did not respond to the Global Times’ request for comment as of press time.