Opposition lawmakers yesterday vowed to cut funding for the English-language TaiwanPlus television channel due to controversies over its news coverage, and demanded that the Ministry of Culture conduct a review.
Minister of Culture Li Yuan (李遠) and Public Television Service chairman Hu Yuan-hui (胡元輝) were questioned by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators during a committee meeting on issues relating to the state-financed TaiwanPlus.
Operated by Public Television Service under the ministry’s jurisdiction, TaiwanPlus has been embroiled in several controversies recently.
Photo: CNA
KMT legislators requested that TaiwanPlus remove a news report on the US election describing US president-elect Donald Trump as a “convicted felon,” saying it was inappropriate and biased.
The channel took down the video after Li told the broadcaster that “this issue is very serious,” while Public Television Service said it would review its operational procedures.
TPP legislators have also criticized TaiwanPlus for using a photograph of TPP Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in handcuffs during the segment “Taiwan Corruption Crackdown,” which they said was mainly about reports relating to investigations of Ko.
KMT Legislator Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) yesterday accused TaiwanPlus of operating as a “state propaganda outlet” on behalf of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government, “helping to whitewash news” and “direct media attention of international communities” in favor of the DPP.
“We shall scrutinize the budgets for Public Television Service and TaiwanPlus and cut their funding as we see fit,” Lo said.
KMT Legislator Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said that TaiwanPlus has cost taxpayers NT$5.8 billion (US$178.21 million), “but the world only heard its biased reporting.”
He also alleged that the channel has low viewership, downloads and subscriptions abroad.
Li said that TaiwanPlus has an annual budget of about NT$800 million and has totaled NT$2.8 billion since its launch three years ago.
The overall budget of NT$5.8 billion included funding for making documentaries and other programs to improve its media services, he said.
“Currently, the results at TaiwanPlus are not yet ideal,” he said. “However, it can be strengthened.”
Li and Hu also defended the Trump report, saying that media in other countries also used “convicted felon” to describe him during the campaign.
DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said that Taiwan has fought hard to remove central government, military or political party control over media, “yet the KMT and TPP are now interfering in freedom of expression and media independence by seeking to repress news reports they object to.”
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