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.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
The WHO ignored early COVID-19 warnings from Taiwan, US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on Friday, as part of justification for Washington withdrawing from the global health body. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said that the US was pulling out of the UN agency, as it failed to fulfill its responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO “ignored early COVID warnings from Taiwan in 2019 by pretending Taiwan did not exist, O’Neill wrote on X on Friday, Taiwan time. “It ignored rigorous science and promoted lockdowns.” The US will “continue international coordination on infectious
RSS