Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers in the legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday voted to reject motions from opposition party lawmakers to boycott or postpone a review of the National Communications Commission (NCC) budget.
The motions were filed by the New Power Party and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to protest the NCC’s handling of SET TV’s (三立電視) investment in Homeplus Digital (中嘉網路), which contradicted a ruling handed down by the cable system regulator when it approved the acquisition of the multiple system operator by Y.L. Lin Hung Tai Charitable Trust in 2018.
The trust fund was instructed that its related enterprises or shareholders must not directly or indirectly control news channels.
Photo: CNA
Following an NCC investigation, SET and Homeplus Digital were ordered to rectify the situation, with the management of the latter given one year to find a new buyer for the shares it sold to the pro-DPP cable television network.
NPP legislators Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) and Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said that the committee should boycott the review of the NCC’s budget.
“It has been nearly three months since the NCC received the tip about SET’s illegal investment in Homeplus Digital. Aside from asking the multiple system operator to rectify the situation in one year, the NCC has neither handed down any punishment nor provided answers to questions about the transaction,” Chiu said.
“This showed that the NCC is incapable of stopping the monopolization of media ownership, nor can it stop KMT vice presidential candidate Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) from continuing to assume management positions in the Broadcasting Corp of China [BCC],” he said.
KMT Legislator Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said the committee should postpone the budget review.
“The incident involving Homeplus would not have happened if it were not for the NCC’s negligence. We would fail in our responsibility to proceed with the budget review,” he said.
DPP legislators Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) and Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said that while they agree with the opposition, the committee should proceed with the review.
“While we review it, we can ask questions and make demands. The commission would be banned from using the budget until they meet those demands. We simply cannot boycott the budget review, as it would delay the entire legislative process,” Lin said.
As DPP lawmakers hold the majority, the motions were struck down in a vote of six to three.
NCC Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) told reporters that the commission has asked the BCC, Pubic Television Service, Chinese Television System and broadcast media associations to explain what they would do now that some of their management are running in political elections, and how they plan to fairly cover candidates from all parties.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
RSS