A decision yesterday by the National Communications Commission (NCC) to stop enforcing two articles in the Radio and Television Act (廣播電視法) has triggered questions from legal experts and lawmakers about its legality.
Article No. 28 of the act states that television programs can be imported or exported only with the commission’s permission, while Article No. 29 states that radio and television stations should not broadcast a domestic program abroad before obtaining approval from the commission.
Spokesperson Yu Hsiao-cheng (虞孝成) said the commission decided to revisit the two articles after reviewing an application by Taipei Pop Radio in March to have one of its programs air on Shanghai East Radio.
“Though we quickly granted the radio station permission to do so, we also found that these two articles, which were stipulated in 1976, were outdated and contradicted the spirit of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” Yu said.
Although not a UN member, Taiwan has voluntarily abided by the two covenants since 2009 after they were passed by the legislature.
Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference, and the right should include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers.
Yu said the commission yesterday ruled that it would eliminate the two articles when it proposes an amendment to the act later.
In the meantime, the commission would stop accepting applications for permission to export or import radio or television programs, Yu said, adding it is authorized to do so by the Administrative Procedures Act (行政程序法).
However, Yu added that television programs imported from China are regulated by the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) and permission to import Chinese programs falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture.
Chien Hsu-cheng (簡旭徵), acting director of the commission’s communication content department, said that the Taipei Pop Radio case was the only occasion that the commission had to apply the two articles in the Radio and Television Act. This means the articles have never been enforced to regulate programs imported from Japan, South Korea or other countries.
However, legal experts challenged the commission’s decision, with some saying it had violated procedures on how laws should be stipulated or eliminated, as well as infringed on the rights of the legislative branch of government.
They said the commissioners had acted as if they were the Council of Grand Justices in dealing with the law.
The Legislative Yuan said the commission must explain its legal basis of authority for stopping the enforcement of a law without the legislature’s approval.
In defense of its decision, the commission said it had consulted the Ministry of Justice before arriving at a conclusion.
“The ministry had informed us that before the administrative procedures of the proposed amendment are completed, the two covenants have precedence over the Radio and Television Act if the latter has regulations contradicting the former,” the commission said in a statement.
It added that the ministry had stated that the commission has the administrative authority to determine if such a contradiction exists.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS