Critics yesterday decried the dismissal of former Public Television Service Foundation president and chief executive Sylvia Feng (馮賢賢), calling it the latest example of political maneuvering in the long-running dispute over the embattled public broadcaster
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and media watchdog organizations yesterday expressed concern about the shake-up after Feng and her deputy were dismissed by the Public Television Service’s (PTS) board last month.
Ming Hwa Yuan Taiwanese Opera director Chen Sheng-fu (陳勝福), a strong Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supporter, has been officially sworn in as acting chairman.
“We would like to express our solidarity with Sylvia Feng in her defense of PTS’ independence,” Reporters Sans Frontieres Asia director Vincent Brossel wrote in a statement. “It is disturbing to see a power struggle at the head of PTS being won by the ruling party’s supporters.”
Problems began for the nation’s first public broadcaster in June last year after the legislature passed an amendment to the Public Television Act (公共電視法) enlarging the PTS’ board of directors. The Government Information Office (GIO), which funds PTS, immediately appointed eight new directors.
The decision paralyzed day-to-day operations at the broadcaster after the Control Yuan wrote that there were major flaws in procedures surrounding the appointments. In January, an injunction was granted by the Taipei District Court to prevent the new directors from taking office.
Three months later, the GIO filed a lawsuit against six of the 11 remaining directors, accusing them of illegally holding meetings without the necessary two-thirds’ attendance. In a counter suit, the group said they were legally mandated to hold meetings once a month to continue PTS operations.
In its annual report on press freedom earlier this year, in which Taiwan dropped four places from last year, US-based Freedom House highlighted the PTS dispute as a reason behind the downgrading. Taiwan ranked No. 47 in April, a 14-place drop from 2008.
In an online statement on Monday, Freedom House raised questions as to whether the leadership change had political implications, coming just two months before the special municipality elections. Candidates in the elections are expected to participate in a debate organized by PTS prior to the polls.
“It is our hope that the recent steps are not a reflection of PTS succumbing to the polemical character of much of today’s media in Taiwan,” Freedom House’s director of studies Christopher Walker said in the statement. “We encourage Taiwan’s policymakers to ensure that PTS does not become a casualty of political conflict.”
Feng said she might take legal action against the new acting chairperson and has characterized her dismissal as politically motivated.
Under Feng, PTS refused to provide extensive coverage broadcast the Taipei International Flora Expo that opens in November, despite having shown last year’s World Games in Kaohsiung live.
The flora expo is a critical component of Taipei City Mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) re-election bid.
Feng said the two decisions were unrelated and that media organizations should be free to choose which events they covered without government interference.
Her position has been supported by the DPP, which said yesterday that her firing would affect the independence of the broadcaster.
“The removal of these professionals shows the danger that public media companies face under this government,” DPP spokesperson Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said. “The political involvement is quite evident in this case.”
PTS claims the firings were made as a result of poor performance, citing a recent internal poll that showed 83 percent of PTS employees had cast no-confidence votes against Feng.
Feng’s contract was scheduled to end in December.
Meanwhile, Chen has pledged to step down after finishing Feng’s term and said he would not be paid for the three-month-long job.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS