The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it would propose an amendment to the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法) that would remove the license renewal requirement for satellite news channels, making licenses permanently valid.
KMT Legislator Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said that the amendment would enshrine safeguarding freedom of the press in Article 1, which states the purpose of the legislation.
In addition, the amendment would distinguish between regular and news channels, Lo said.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Time
“We propose that regular channel licenses, which are currently valid for six years, be valid for nine years, making regulations in the act congruent with those in the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法) and Radio and Television Act (廣播電視法). However, the amendment would make licenses for cable news channels permanently valid. News channels would no longer be required to renew their licenses, and the government would have no way to use license renewal requirements to suppress freedom of the press,” he said.
Lo said that the amendment would still enable the National Communications Commission (NCC) to cancel broadcasting licenses or reject license renewal applications, but only after it has exhausted all administrative resources at its disposal to ensure that channels rectify the offenses they commit.
If a channel files a lawsuit to dispute the NCC’s ruling to cancel its license or reject its license renewal application, its license remains valid until the lawsuit is settled.
The amendment, if passed, would apply to channels who are disputing the ruling on the license renewal in court, Lo said.
Lo said that news channels would still face fines or punishment if they run advertisements with falsified content, but they cannot be shut down or face other irrevocable punishments.
The NCC is welcome to challenge the amendments in the Constitutional Court, he said.
KMT Legislator Hung Mong-kai (洪孟楷) said that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would forever be remembered as the president who shut down CTi News (中天新聞), adding that the caucus would ask the NCC to cut its spending on legal fees in the next legislative session.
“The commission’s legal fees have risen from NT$1.5 million per year to NT$7 million [US$46,700 to US$217,933] as it is involved in multiple lawsuits because of its rulings,” Hung said. “Only by cutting their legal fees can the agency realize that they should not use lawsuits to suppress media they disapprove of.”
In 2020, seven NCC commissioners voted unanimously to reject CTi News’ license renewal application after the channel contravened broadcasting regulations multiple times, causing it to be taken down by cable systems around the nation. Since then, the channel has been broadcasting on YouTube and in the meantime disputing several NCC rulings against it in court, including the ruling to reject its license renewal application.
The NCC said it has not seen proposed amendments from the KMT, but it said that it respects the lawmakers’ right to propose bills.
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