Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien yesterday threw his support behind a recent recommendation by former Straits Exchange Foundation chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) that broadcasting licenses be granted to Chinese TV news stations, saying the proposal was “wise” and “in the nation’s interest.”
Wang made the remarks at a gathering with journalists, after Chiang proposed at a forum in Taipei on Sunday that the nation allow Chinese TV stations such as China Central Television (CCTV) and Phoenix Television to broadcast locally.
Chiang said the Chinese TV stations provided better coverage of international news than Taiwanese channels.
“What can people possibly benefit from Taiwan’s chaotic media environment that is saturated with pundits and gossip? Opening our door to TV stations such as CCTV and Phoenix Television, which spare no money in producing high-quality programs, would not only be in the nation’s interest, but also help improve its media environment,” Wang said.
Wang urged the public not to turn down opportunities that favor Taiwan, adding that the nation could request China to do the same for Taiwanese news stations after it had broadcast theirs for a year.
Commenting on concerns that the opening-up could facilitate China’s annexation of Taiwan, Wang said: “Why would people of sophisticated thinking [Taiwanese] fear those with only primitive thinking [Chinese]?”
In response, former premier Yu Shyi-kun of the Democratic Progressive Party said that men who made such utterances are clearly “half-witted.”
“As heavyweights of the pan-blue camp, people like Wang and Chiang should know very well that China is a one-party totalitarian state that has no freedom and democracy. What they should speak up for are universal values, freedom, democracy and human rights, and yet they chose to take a step backwards,” Yu said.
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