Thu, Jun 28, 2007 page3

• NCC accused over approval for BCC

  BEAT THE DOG Members of the media watchdog that approved a share transfer by the former KMT-owned radio station acted illegally, the GIO spokesman alleged

  • By Shih Hsiu-chuan and Shelley Shan / STAFF REPORTERS
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  The National Communications Commission (NCC) members who took part in Tuesday's review of the Broadcasting Corporation of China's application to transfer its shares to four companies will be referred to the judiciary, a government spokesman said yesterday.

  Government Information Office Minister Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) said that the referral would take place within a week at the latest.

  "In the meantime, [the government] doesn't rule out the possibility of suspending the authority of NCC members," Shieh told a press conference after an inter-departmental meeting was held on how to react to the approval.

  

  Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator David Huang, center, scuffles with police as he tries to enter the National Communications Commission building in Taipei yesterday. He and a group of supporters were demanding that Su Yeong-ching step down for approving New Party founder Jaw Shaw-kong's purchase of the Broadcasting Corporation of China.

  PHOTO: LIU HSIN-DE, TAIPEI TIMES

  Shieh said that government officials had ascertained during the meeting that the four companies along with four other companies claiming to be shareholders of one of the first four companies, were "front companies" owned by [former UFO Radio chairman] Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) and his wife Liang Lei (梁蕾).

  "As a result, the transaction was illegal and the NCC members are thus under suspicion of dereliction of duty and aiding Jaw," Shieh said.

  The NCC on Tuesday approved the BCC's application to transfer its shares to four companies and another application to install Jaw as chairman of its board after the BCC promised it would unconditionally return two radio frequencies to the government.

  Shieh said that Jaw established the eight companies as a means to circumvent a regulation of the Enforcement Rule of the Broadcasting and Television Law (廣播電視法施行細則), which bans individuals from possessing more than 10 percent of a radio business.

  "Jaw actually owns about 40 percent to 50 percent of the BCC's shares," Shieh said.

  Shieh said that officials with the Financial Supervisory Commission, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Taipei Business Administration Office told the inter-departmental meeting that they had expressed doubts about the eight companies to the NCC, but the NCC members didn't bother to investigate the facts behind the deal.

  In response, NCC spokesperson Howard Shyr (石世豪) yesterday said that the commission is in charge of enforcing the Broadcast and Television Law (廣播電視法).

  He said that what Shieh had mentioned in his statement about the registration and the shareholders' meetings are regulated by the Corporation Law (公司法), which is not under the commission's administrative authority.

  Shyr emphasized that the commission had been as thorough as possible when reviewing the case.

  For example, he said, the commission had garnered official replies from the High Prosecutors' Office and the High Court indicating that none of the proposed persons in charge had any committed any criminal acts.

  He said that the Ministry of Economic Affairs had also informed the commission in March that they could not find any problems with the four shareholding companies.

  Shyr said that the BCC has promised to fulfill every requirement in its agreement with the commission. If the Executive Yuan finds anything inappropriate in how the case was handled, it should gain a thorough understanding by consulting with the different administrative organizations in charge.

  "Before Shieh, there were seven other GIO ministers, and none of them managed to get the two frequencies back from the BCC," he said. "The commission got the BCC to unconditionally return them."

  Earlier yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party Chairman Yu Shyi-kun urged the Cabinet to relieve NCC Chairman Su Yeong-ching (蘇永欽) of his duties, charging him with malfeasance and profiting the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).

  "The KMT obtained its assets through unjust means. It is a consensus among the public that these assets should be recovered," Yu said.

  Yu said he had reported the KMT's controversial sale of its stolen assets to the Ministry of Justice last November, but the ministry's Special Investigation Division had not yet looked into the controversies.

  Yu said that the second stage of the party's campaign for a referendum on recovering the KMT's stolen assets had garnered over 1.4 million signatures.

  The Referendum Law (公投法) states that the signatures of 5 percent of the nation's eligible voters, or 830,000 names, must be collected before a referendum can take place.

  The DPP campaign had collected 1,424,478 signatures as of Tuesday, Yu said.

  Yu said the party would submit the signatures to the Cabinet for verification, adding that the party hopes the referendum can be held along with next year's legislative or presidential election.

  Additional reporting by Flora Wang
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