Talk show host Lee Tao (
"I am sorry for the mistake made by [TVBS] reporters and believe I should take full responsibility for it," Lee said in a statement.
"Please give the TVBS news team one more chance to correct the mistake ... Let them prove to you their determination to pursue quality news," Lee said.
"I hope that my resignation will stop some politicians and the media from raging and seeking revenge against TVBS," he added.
TVBS' board of directors also issued an official statement yesterday that it had grudgingly approved Lee's resignation.
"The National Communications Commission's [NCC] resolution asking us to replace the station's general manager may involve some legal issues, and we reserve the right to file a lawsuit against this injustice," the statement said.
Lee's position will temporarily be filled by Lin Chia-hsin (
Li Siduan (
Stations fined
The announcement came after the commission issued a ruling last week that TVBS and TVBS-N would each be penalized NT$1 million (NT$30,200) for mishandling the gangster footage broadcast last week.
The commission also asked the stations to replace the company's general manager and deputy general manager for failing to control news quality and to act in a responsible manner.
Controversies surrounding the NCCs ruling were also the focus of a question-and-answer session at the legislature's Sci-tech and Information Committee yesterday.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuo Chun-ming (
Kuo also asked NCC chairman Su Yeong-chin (
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lwo Shih-hsiung (
"The commission has apparently overextended its authority in this regard," Lwo said.
In response, Su said he had no plan to resign any time soon, adding that the NCC had no intention of making any changes to its ruling.
He added that the commission would offer a more detailed and thorough explanation of the ruling to the public today.
Su reiterated that the resolution does not target any specific person, including Lee Tao.
He said the commission has the authority to ask TVBS to replace its managers, but it would not ask who they must choose to fill these positions.
"The TVBS incident is a very special case in the history of Taiwan's journalism," Su said.
"It is more appropriate to handle it as an isolated case rather than some precedent-setting principle," he added.
Infractions
When asked about the Cabinet's planned release of a report on the NCC's 10 major infractions, Su said he only knew of 10 questions that the Cabinet had asked in regard to the commission's operations and its members' conduct.
The questions include whether commissioners Wu Chung-chi (吳忠吉), Jimmy Hsieh (謝進男) and Liu Zong-de (劉宗德) have held other government positions, or whether commissioners Lee Tsu-yuan (李祖源) and Liu Yu-li (劉幼琍) may have a conflict of interest in reviewing the cases of China Television Co and Broadcasting Corporation of China.
The commission has sent formal replies to these questions to the Cabinet, he said.
also see story:
Executive Yuan to release NCC report in the near future
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
Taiwanese barista Xie Yi-chen (謝溢宸) recently triumphed at the 2024 World Coffee Championships, taking home 1st place in the World Latte Art category. Xie, 28, impressed the judges in the final round with patterns of a whale, a moose, and a dragon in the three-day competition that took place in Copenhagen, Denmark from June 27-29, clinching the title of latte art world champion during his first time representing Taiwan on the world stage. At a press conference held by the Taiwan Coffee Association on Thursday, Xie said that creating latte art gives him a tremendous feeling of achievement. Speaking about his entries in
TRAVEL CONVENIENCE: The program is to shorten wait times while passing through airport checks and would start for Taiwanese from January next year Japan is to launch a new program to expedite entry procedures for Taiwanese starting from January next year. The Japanese government is planning to introduce new rules to shorten the time it takes foreign travelers to pass through immigration, thereby attracting more tourists to visit, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported yesterday. An airport preclearance program would be implemented to allow foreign travelers to finish some screenings at their departure airport’s terminals and undergo simple confirmation procedures upon arrival, it said. The program would initially be applied to travelers from Taiwan from January next year and could be extended to travelers from elsewhere depending
The annual Taipei Summer Festival, which starts today, is to tone down its fireworks displays, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said on Monday. Fireworks displays are to be held at the riverside site in Datong District’s (大同) Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area on four days at this year’s festival, with the first today, and then on Wednesday next week, July 31 and Aug. 10, the department said. There were eight displays last year, with the reduction aimed at minimizing inconvenience to local residents, it said. The first three shows, which are all on Wednesdays, are to last for five minutes, while the final