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Government shuts down TV Stations

Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Pasuya Yao yesterday explanis the GIO's refusal to renew the licenses of seven cable TV channels during a press conference at the office. PHOTO: TAI TA-SHANG, TAIPEI TIMES

The government yesterday announced that it would not renew the operating licenses of TV news channel ETTV-S and six movie and variety channels, and said the stations must go off the air as of tomorrow.

The move by the Government Information Office (GIO) drew an immediate and sharp backlash from the stations and pan-blue legislators, who charged that it was a heavy-handed attempt to reign in media outlets that are critical of the government.

"I'm worried that the `white terror' era will return to the media industry," People First Party (PFP) Legislator Li Yong-ping (李永萍) yesterday. "Do we really want to let a government agency decide which media outlets are fulfilling their social responsibilities and which can continue operating?"

Pan-blue legislators, joined by some from the pan-green camp, vowed to continue pushing the establishment of a National Communications Commission (NCC) to reform how the nation's media is supervised. Li called on GIO Minister Pasuya Yao (姚文智) to convince the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus to stop blocking the establishment of the commission.

"The DPP caucus is inconsistent in its words and actions," she said. "While it claims to support media reform, it is derailing the establishment of the NCC."

Li vowed that her caucus will team up with its political ally, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), to push for setting up the NCC during the upcoming legislative session, and may request that the matter be put to a vote.

Li criticized the lack of transparency in the GIO's review process for media outlets' license renewals, calling it a "black-box operation."

Yao defended the government's decision, denying that the GIO review process is too secretive, and made public the names of some of the review committee members. The committee suggested not renewing the seven stations' licenses late Sunday night.

He also stood firm on the committee's suggestion, which is awaiting his final approval before being implemented.

"What the media outlets reap today is what they have sown," Yao said. "Since we enforced the law too leniently in the past, media outlets almost forgot that the law exists."

He added that the GIO cannot guarantee that each applicant will pass the review.

Yao dismissed speculation that the GIO's rejection of the ETTV-S' renewal application is to make room for a pro-independence broadcaster which plans to launch a TV station by next year. But he said that he had met up with the chairman of the group in question.

Yao said that in addition to an indignant response from Eastern Broadcasting Company, which runs ETTV-S, a death threat was faxed to his office before the GIO had even made its decision public. Yao has asked the police to conduct an investigation into the threat.

In a statement on its Web site, ETTV-S said it would appeal the GIO decision. It termed it "an international laughing stock and a black spot for Taiwan's democracy," adding that the station had won a government award for one of its programs.

PFP caucus whip Sun Ta-chen (孫大千) said that the immediate backlash to the GIO's move only proves that the government has lost credibility.

"We'd really hate to see the government use the renewal of media operating licenses as an excuse to kidnap the media and curb press freedom," he said. "I'm calling on the public to open their eyes and see clearly exactly who is the stumbling block to media reform."

Once the NCC is established, its mission will be to integrate the management of telecommunications, cable television, satellite and wireless broadcasting in this country. Under the plan, incentives would be offered to develop new media technology, while helping to protect the interests of audiences by monitoring the service of media industries.

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