The much-anticipated National Communications Commission (NCC) was officially launched yesterday, with its nine members unanimously choosing Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-backed Su Yeong-chin (
The first NCC meeting, mandated by law, also elected Shyr Shry-hau (
Su said after the election that both the chairman and two vice chairmen were elected by the NCC members themselves.
Each position was put to the vote once, and the results were finalized after three elections in total. All three officials were approved by the NCC members without any opposition, Su said.
He denied that the commission members had struck a deal on the election beforehand, adding that the three top officials represent different parties, which fulfils the law's requirement for diversity in the NCC.
The meeting yesterday revealed neither a specific plan nor a timetable for what the commission attempts to accomplish this year.
"The most important thing right now [to the commission] is to win the trust of the people," Su said.
The legislature approved the Organic Law of the National Communications Commission (
Except for Lu Chung-chin (
Last week, three of the nominees -- Chen Ming-syan (
For the remaining nine commission members, seven are backed by the KMT, and one each by the DPP and Taiwan Solidarity Union. In terms of their expertise, three commission members are representatives from the media, four are legal experts, one is a telecommunications professional and one is a consumer advocate.
In response to concern that the composition of the NCC could allow party politics to interfere with the operation of administrative agencies, Su said yesterday that the NCC is an independent body responsible for executing the nation's media laws.
It is also charged with the mission of regulating the telecommunications, information and broadcasting sectors, he said.
Su added that the commission cannot propose legislation, but could offer suggestions independent of both the Executive Yuan and the parliament.
He said that the lack of representation from the telecommunications industry would not be an issue.
In addition to the commission members, the NCC will recruit an additional 500 to 700 employees from the ranks of former employees of the broadcasting division of the Government Information Office and the Directorate-General of Telecommunications.
SCENARIOS: A potential conflict with Beijing would not be similar to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and China would target energy and food supplies, a researcher said China is likely to continue using economic and cyberoperations against Taiwan to force it to capitulate without resorting to a military attack, Fox News reported yesterday, citing the outcome of a tabletop exercise. Washington-based think tank the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) earlier this month held a tabletop exercise in Taipei focusing on Beijing’s use of economic and cybercoercion against Taiwan. The FDD mentioned an “anaconda strategy,” in which Beijing would likely use cyberwarfare and disinformation campaigns followed by a blockade or other measures to strangulate Taiwan, rather than attempting an invasion, the report said. A large-scale cyberattack would be
HSINCHU CASES: Five people among 35 who were reported being sick were still in hospital after eating at a vendor in a market in Jhubei, the local health agency said Thirty-five people have sought medical treatment for acute symptoms after allegedly eating banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) from a vendor in Jhubei City (竹北), the Hsinchu County Public Health Bureau said yesterday. The bureau said that since Saturday, it has received several reports of suspected food poisoning from hospitals. The vendor has been ordered to temporarily suspend its business, it said, adding that tests were being conducted to determine whether the people had food poisoning, with results expected in about two weeks. A preliminary investigation showed that the people who sought treatment had recently eaten banh mi at a vendor at a retail market
GOOD MODEL: Speaking at his book launch, Law said that Taiwan is the most democratic Chinese-speaking country, which is why Hong Kongers relocated here China has suffocated Hong Kong’s civil society and its next target could be Taiwan, Nathan Law (羅冠聰), cofounder of the disbanded pro-democracy Hong Kong political party Demosisto, said in Taipei yesterday. Law made the remarks at a launch in Taipei for his book When the Wind Blows — the Struggles for Freedom of Hong Kong (時代推著我們前行:羅冠聰的香港備忘錄). Law has been living in the UK since he fled Hong Kong in 2020, and the book is about his fighting for the cause of freedom in the area. He was granted political asylum in 2021. “Fleeing is a long and distressing process, but it also
IMITATING OTHERS? Tsai Ing-wen’s office said the former president rents a commercial unit for her personal office and had never used election funds to purchase real estate Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday confirmed that he used about NT$43 million (US$1.35 million) from his presidential election subsidy to purchase an office unit near the Legislative Yuan in May. Ko made the remarks after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) earlier in the day told a news conference that she received a tip-off that the TPP chairman had purchased a 48.76 ping (161.2m2) office unit at Jinan Building (濟南大樓), a commercial building in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District (中正). Lin said that Ko purchased the unit on May 10, paying about NT$43 million in cash,