A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator has proposed amendments to allow the government, political parties and the military to indirectly invest in broadcast media, prompting concerns of potential political interference.
Under Article 1 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), the government and political parties — as well as foundations established with their endowments, and those commissioned by them — cannot directly or indirectly invest in satellite broadcasting businesses. A similar regulation is in the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法).
“The purpose of banning the government, political parties and the military from investing in the media is to prevent them from interfering in freedom of speech. However, regulations should allow for pure financial investments in broadcast media,” KMT Legislator Chen Hsueh-sheng (陳雪生) said.
Photo: Taipei Times file
Although the acts protect television media from political and military influence, they also deny the media industry the opportunity to grow and prosper, he said.
“My proposed amendments still ban the government, political parties and the military from directly investing in broadcast media and cable systems in accordance with the guiding principle of the legislation. However, they would be allowed to indirectly hold no more than 10 percent of shares in them. Meanwhile, such a rule does not apply to investments from the government and state-run corporations,” Chen said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators said the investment ban should not be relaxed given the current political atmosphere.
DPP caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) yesterday said that the public would agree that broadcast media should be free from political influence, adding that such proposals needs further deliberation.
DPP Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said the amendments create legal and political problems.
“Even though the proposals say a 10 percent cap would not apply to investments from the government or state-run corporations, I think we should not rashly tackle this issue in the current political atmosphere,” he said.
If an opposition party accuses a news channel of giving it unfavorable coverage, and the government is an indirect investor of that channel, it could be easily construed to be a government ploy to use the media to attack opposition parties, Lin said.
The government would still be considered to have influence over a certain media outlet even if it does not own many shares in it, he said.
National Communications Commission Secretary-General Huang Wen-che (黃文哲) said the ban is a fundamental requirement to protect freedom of the press, adding that it should be adjusted through amendments, rather than being abolished completely.
Taiwan Forever Association chairman Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎), who is a lawyer, said that easing or lifting restrictions on media ownership could open the door for the government, political parties or the military to intervene in the operations of media companies.
“In practicality, holding 10 percent of a large firm could give a shareholder the power to influence its operation. That is a risk we cannot afford as a democratic country, one for which we have to be cautious,” Huang said.
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