National Communications Commission (NCC) spokesman Lee Ta-sung (李大嵩) said yesterday that the commission would consider the impact on the media market when issuing operation licenses for terrestrial TV services.
A story in yesterday’s Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) said the Ministry of Transportation and Communications was planning to release a maximum of five terrestrial TV licenses.
The ministry is in charge of the planning and use of the nation’s radio spectrum. The commission issues the operational licenses and sets the issuing rules.
The story said the ministry wants to add five terrestrial TV stations to the five that already exist. If the digital TV service is available by then, the 10 terrestrial stations could even be expanded 30 channels, the newspaper said.
Lee said the ministry was still seeking input from the public on the plan and the commission was awaiting policy instructions from the ministry.
“We understand the impact [the policy] will have on the market, which we will take into account,” Lee said. “Current operators have already established the infrastructure for digital broadcast. Newcomers could share those resources and develop new operational models with the current players.”
Lee said the licenses would either be sold or auctioned, but it was not a revenue-enhancing bid.
“The Government Information Office was reprimanded by the Control Yuan in 2002 for not holding public auction for the operational licenses,” he said. “We have to sell them or let others bid for them.”
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
China sent 50 military planes and vessels to the vicinity of Taiwan in the 24 hours starting at 6am on Friday, while President William Lai (賴清德) was visiting Kinmen for the first time since taking office in May to mark the 66th anniversary of the 823 Artillery Bombardment. Flight paths released yesterday by the Ministry of National Defense showed that 38 military aircraft were detected in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the highest number recorded in recent weeks. The figure included 32 that crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or its extension. Of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft
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