CBS News Anchor Tony Dokoupil Barred From Broadcasting at Taiwan Hotel
CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil was prevented from broadcasting from his hotel in Taipei after the owner objected to the network's coverage of China. The incident occurred after Dokoupil had already been forced to report from Taiwan instead of Beijing due to a visa delay during President Trump's summit with Xi Jinping.
New York PostDokoupil had been reporting from neighboring Taiwan after the network failed to secure a visa for him to report from Beijing during President Trump's summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. During a segment that included interviews with people in Taiwan who expressed fear of speaking openly about China, Dokoupil began to say that restrictions extended to the hotel where the crew was staying.
He instead completed his second and final broadcast from Taipei’s Liberty Square. The hotel incident was the latest in a series of difficulties for the CBS News team. On Wednesday, veteran cameraman Randy Schmidt collapsed on air from exhaustion after traveling at the last minute from Tokyo.
The collapse occurred while Dokoupil was providing updates on the summit between Trump and Xi. Dokoupil paused his closing remarks after the cameraman could be heard falling. "We’re gonna take a quick break.
We have a medical emergency here," he said as the crew remained silent. The CBS Evening News team stated minutes after the broadcast that the cameraman was okay and recovering. The trip to Taiwan followed the network's inability to obtain a China visa for Dokoupil.
CBS News faced criticism for poor planning that left it scrambling while rival anchors from other networks reported from Beijing. The network did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Dokoupil anchored from a Taipei hotel balcony on Wednesday before moving to Liberty Square on Thursday.
Schmidt had assisted in setting up the remote broadcast operation prior to his collapse.
Key Facts
Story Timeline
4 events- 2026-05-15
Cameraman Randy Schmidt collapsed on air during broadcast from exhaustion.
1 sourceNew York Post - 2026-05-15
Tony Dokoupil broadcast from Taipei hotel balcony after visa failure.
1 sourceNew York Post - 2026-05-16
Hotel owner barred Dokoupil from broadcasting due to coverage objections.
1 sourceNew York Post - 2026-05-16
Dokoupil completed final Taiwan broadcast from Liberty Square.
1 sourceNew York Post
Potential Impact
- 01
CBS News completed its coverage of the Trump-Xi summit from Taiwan instead of Beijing.
- 02
The network faced operational disruptions including on-air medical emergency and hotel eviction.
- 03
Rival networks maintained on-the-ground anchor presence in Beijing during the summit.
- 04
Viewers saw Dokoupil report from public square after hotel restrictions.
Transparency Panel
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