The National Communications Commission (NCC) would not intervene in the production and planning of television news coverage of political candidates running in the nine-in-one local elections in November, NCC Vice Chairman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said yesterday.
Wong was responding to criticism from former Tainan County commissioner and Taiwan Renewal Party Taipei mayoral candidate Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智), who on Monday said that several TV networks were focusing only on the three major candidates in the Taipei mayoral election.
Su said he would sue the networks for contravening the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), as well as the NCC for failing to supervise the stations.
Photo: CNA
“While TV stations can produce and broadcast programs based on their own broadcasting guidelines and code of ethics, for mayoral elections, they should follow Article 49 of the act during the 15-day campaigning period leading up to the election,” Su said. “We will work with the Central Election Commission to ensure that broadcast media comply with election regulations.”
Under Article 49, TV stations are required to cover political candidates fairly. Broadcast media contravening the article are subject to a fine of between NT$200,000 and NT$2 million (US$6,433 and US$64,334).
Twelve candidates are running for Taipei mayor, with former minister of health and welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) of the Democratic Progressive Party, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) and independent candidate Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) among the front-runners.
Su said that Chinese Television System (CTS), Public Television Service, Formosa Television, TVBS and SET News had contravened Article 104 of the act, which prohibits spreading rumors or false information, or attempting to help a candidate win or lose an election.
He said he would today protest outside the CTS building and ask the network to invite him and all Taipei mayoral candidates to a debate.
“Formosa TV told me that it can only invite candidates from major political parties or those with high approval ratings to a televised debate due to the limited time and resources it has,” he said. “However, it is only legal and reasonable if all candidates in the Taipei mayoral election are invited. Inviting all candidates to a debate is feasible, as evidenced by cases in other countries.”
Neither poll results nor party affiliation should be used as justification for deciding which candidates to cover or who to invite for televised debates, he said, adding that it is the discriminatory practices of broadcast media that lead to discrepancies in approval ratings.
In addition to addressing the biases of TV networks, the NCC should quickly stipulate broadcast guidelines for campaign news coverage to ensure the fairness of the election.
Separately, Wong said that Huang’s pledge to establish an online public policy discussion forum if elected could be unconstitutional if it uses a real-name system.
Huang said the online platform would allow Taipei residents to propose policies directly to the city government.
Using a real-name system would ensure that real people participate in discussions on issues facing the city, she said, adding that the forum would not collect personal data.
This helps foster an environment in which people are responsible for their own public statements, she said.
“I suggest that the candidate look at the example in South Korea, where a real-name system was ruled unconstitutional in August 2012,” Wong said. “Adopting a real-name system in an online forum could impede freedom of speech, which was not won easily in Taiwan, and thus requires extensive discussion.”
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
RSS