Tsai had previously sworn that the public could call him "Biao Chi-fang" if the government failed to shut down TVBS, whose shareholder structure he claimed was illegal. After carefully studying related laws and regulations governing media outlets' shareholder structure, Tsai yesterday said he had made a mistake in his understanding of the matter, but that he nonetheless decided to keep his word and let people refer to him as biao ge.
DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) yesterday threw his backing behind the president, but said that the GIO should leave the matter to the NCC.
Also, the Northern Taiwan Society yesterday criticized the president for using "political power to constrain judicial rulings."
"We are devoted to steadfastly safeguarding freedom of the press, but the premise is the media's self-discipline," said Chet Yang (楊文嘉), secretary-general of the organization. "Before the truth of the matter is known, we don't think it is appropriate for the president to use a political promise to influence a future legal verdict."
The pan-blue legislative caucuses yesterday also lambasted the administration, with the People First Party (PFP) caucus still threatening to mobilize a million people to take to the street if the government "dared" to annul the operating license of TVBS, as well as appeal to the US government.
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