The Legislative Yuan yesterday announced the launch of two official parliament television channels, which are to broadcast legislative proceedings live from Friday, the first day of the new legislative session.
The legislative proceedings, including general assembly meetings and committee meetings, had since April last year been broadcast in a pilot project on three commercial television networks commissioned by the legislature.
The official broadcasts are to be aired on public channels 123 and 124 and are governed by the Public Television Service Foundation.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“Twenty-three new media outlets also helped broadcast the legislative meetings in the past year and together they counted more than 10 million viewers, which shows there is a need and public expectation for an open and monitored legislature,” legislative speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) said.
“Many other democracies, such as the US, the UK, Japan and South Korea, have long had parliament TV. Ours has been planned and set up within a year,” he said, applauding the nation’s swift action.
Su last year pledged a more transparent and open Legislative Yuan, and broadcasting of legislative sessions was one of those promises.
The legislature consented to the pilot project in March last year and in November last year finalized amendments to set up official channels to be operated by the Public Television Service Foundation.
The nation’s major multiple system operators, independent cable system operators and Chunghwa Telecom Co’s media-on-demand TV service agreed to air the legislative sessions on channels 123 and 124, Su said.
The channel numbers were selected to echo World Freedom Day on Jan. 23, as liberty and equality are creeds of the Legislative Yuan, Su added.
Each of the two channels is to broadcast four of the eight legislative committees live on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and the general assembly floor meetings on Tuesdays and Fridays are to be simulcast.
Taiwanese sign language translation is to be available for the premier’s policy report at the Legislative Yuan, as it was in the last session, and as of this session, real-time sign language translation is to be broadcast for the question-and-answer session.
Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said more transparency and public oversight would reduce the chances of misunderstanding and curb mudslinging among lawmakers.
New Power Party Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said the TV channels would help boost the public’s trust in government agencies.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) and People First Party Legislator Chen Yi-chieh (陳怡潔) called for interparty cooperation for better policies and image.
“We hope that what people watch on TV will not be our brawls,” Chen said.
‘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
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS