National Communications Commission (NCC) Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) yesterday denied accusations that he had asked members of a preliminary review committee to approve the application of Mirror Media (精鏡傳媒) to establish a news channel, Mirror TV.
Chen made the remarks in response to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Mong-kai (洪孟楷) at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee.
“I was not in the meeting when the preliminary review committee approved the bid, nor did I ask committee members to do so. The allegation was clearly from someone who sought to influence public opinion,” Chen said.
The NCC launched an internal investigation after one committee member reported that internal communication on their opinion about Taiwan Optical Platform’s application to establish a TV news channel was leaked to the media.
“We had completed the investigation and reported the findings to all members of the review committee on Friday last week, [at a meeting during which] they approved Mirror Media’s application to establish Mirror TV,” Chen said.
Chen also denied claims that he had said the review of Mirror Media’s application should be suspended until after the investigation was concluded.
Asked by Hung and New Power Party Legislator Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) to disclose the details of the investigation, NCC Department of Broadcasting and Content Affairs Director Huang Wen-che (黃文哲) said that such information should remain confidential until NCC commissioners issue a final ruling, citing regulations governing the operations of the preliminary review committee.
The NCC found no evidence that someone within the body might have leaked the information to the media, he added.
NCC officials said that the Mirror TV bid would be forwarded to commissioners, who would start working on it later this month.
The Transportation Committee also passed a motion requiring the NCC to submit minutes of all commissioners meetings in which Mirror Media’s application was discussed within one week of a final ruling.
Mirror Media’s plan to establish Mirror TV came under close scrutiny as the commission has not approved a news channel for nearly 10 years.
Among the moves that drew criticism were Mirror Media’s plan to retain National Chengchi University adjunct professor Weng Shieu-chi (翁秀琪) as a full-time ombudsman to monitor the quality of news broadcasts at Mirror TV and Mirror Media chairman Pei Wei’s (裴偉) resignation from the post of Mirror TV chairman.
The moves were believed to be in response to NCC concerns that the company would use the channel to broadcast tabloid-like content similar to that of its Mirror Magazine.
Criticism also focused on the investors behind Mirror TV, as the channel’s board of directors would mostly be staffed with celebrities and media professionals who do not hold a stake in the company.
The Grand Hotel Taipei on Saturday confirmed that its information system had been illegally accessed and expressed its deepest apologies for the concern it has caused its customers, adding that the issue is being investigated by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau. The hotel said that on Tuesday last week, it had discovered an external illegal intrusion into its information system. An initial digital forensic investigation confirmed that parts of the system had been accessed, it said, adding that the possibility that some customer data were stolen and leaked could not be ruled out. The actual scope and content of the affected data
DO THEY BITE IT? Cats have better memories than people might think, but their motivation is based entirely around the chance of getting fed Cats can remember the identity of the people who fed them the day before, Taipei-based veterinarians said on Friday, debunking a popular myth that cats have a short memory. If a stray does not recognize the person who fed them the previous day, it is likely because they are not carrying food and the cat has no reason to recognize them, said Wu Chou Animal Hospital head Chen Chen-huan (陳震寰). “When cats come to a human bearing food, it is coming for the food, not the person,” he said. “The food is the key.” Since the cat’s attention is on the food, it
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday bestowed one of Taiwan’s highest honors on Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Ambassador Andrea Clare Bowman in recognition of her contributions to bilateral ties. “By conferring the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon on Ambassador Bowman today, I want to sincerely thank her, on behalf of the Taiwanese people, for her outstanding contribution to deepening diplomatic ties between Taiwan and SVG,” Lai said at a ceremony held at the Presidential Office in Taipei. He noted that Bowman became SVG’s first ambassador to Taiwan in 2019 and
RSS