The National Communications Commission’s (NCC) status as an independent establishment within the government is under threat from a proposed amendment to the National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播會組織法) that would empower the Executive Yuan to both nominate and choose the NCC chairperson and vice chairperson, who would be confirmed by the Legislative Yuan, a commission official said.
The proposed amendment is drastically different from the current regulations, which state that while the Executive Yuan is entitled to nominate the NCC commissioners, the commissioners choose the NCC head and deputy head.
NCC Spokesperson Chen Jeng-chang (陳正倉) said the commissioners spent a lot of time deliberating the proposed amendment at a meeting yesterday. Four commissioners who took office last month — NCC Chairperson Su Herng (蘇蘅), Liu Chorng-jian (劉崇堅), Chang Shi-chung (張時中) and Wei Shyue-win (魏學文) — agreed to the proposed amendment, while three other commissioners in their second term opposed the change and suggested that the NCC maintain the status quo and not amend the act.
“All the commissioners eventually voted on the case and decided to present both proposals to the Executive Yuan for approval,” Chen said.
The ruling further intensified the inner struggle between the four new commissioners and three old commissioners, with the conflict between the two groups first surfacing during the election of NCC chairperson and vice chairperson last month. Su, who was reported by local media to be the favored Executive Yuan choice, was chosen as NCC chairperson.
Chen, one of the commissioners opposing the proposed amendment, said he would jointly compose dissenting opinions on the ruling with commissioners Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) and Chung Chi-hui (鍾起惠) and post them on the NCC Web site.
“If the Executive Yuan can determine who can be the NCC’s head and deputy head, then it can also influence the chairperson and in turn affect the NCC and its communication policies,” Chen said. “Whether such an organization could make a just and independent ruling is very questionable.”
Chen said the NCC, as reflected in its name, is a national organization, but the proposed amendment would place it under the administration of the Executive Yuan, a gesture Chen described as “self-deprecating.”
While recognizing the importance of the Organic Standard Act of the Central Government Agencies (中央行政機關組織基準法), which was passed in February and has special regulations governing independent establishments, Chen said that one also must recognize the uniqueness of the NCC compared with other independent agencies such as the Fair Trade Commission and the Central Election Commission.
Su, on the other hand, said she does not think the NCC would lose its independence if the Executive Yuan chose NCC chairperson and vice chairperson.
“What it will lose is perhaps the commissioners’ right to vote and select the NCC chairperson,” Su said, adding that right to vote does not necessarily equal independence.
When asked how she would ensure the independence of the NCC is not compromised, Su said the premier has to be responsible for the administrative decision he or she makes, and the people the premier nominates would have to be confirmed by the Legislative Yuan. The system itself is designed to preserve the independence, she said.
“The NCC Organization Act said that the NCC Commissioners rule by consensus and is the high decision-making body in NCC,” she said. “The real ‘independence’ should come from the self-regulation of the commissioners.”
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