Politicians and public servants should get out of media programming and be restricted from managing media or the producing and hosting of TV or radio programs, a media watch group yesterday said.
He Te-feng (賀德芬), president of Taiwan Media Watch Foundation (媒體觀察基金會) told a press conference at the Legislative Yuan yesterday that the tendency for public servants, election candidates elected officials to take part in media reporting or the production or hosting of TV and radio programs was "strangling the fair and detached stance that mass media is supposed to have."
He said that Taiwan's media situation had long been intertwined with political party and military interests. Of the three major terrestrial TV networks, TTV, CTV and CTS one is substantially owned by the KMT, one by the military and one by the government. All three, He said, are obviously favoring the KMT in election-related coverage, while the fourth terrestrial channel, FTV, the president of which is a member of the DPP's central standing committee, has shown a clear bias towards the DPP.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
He called on politicians to respect the independence of the fourth estate, while the foundation called for a petition to force political parties and public servants out of the media.
The group wants such regulations be included in the Political Party Law (政黨法) and the Civil Servant Conflict of Interest Prevention Bill (公職人員利益衝突迴避法). A proposal to do which will be reviewed in the legislature next Friday.
The proposal would restrict public servants and election candidates from holding posts as shareholders, directors or managers of media-related enterprises or from working as producers, anchorpeople or reporters. The government and political parties would also be prevented from investing in mass media enterprises.
DPP legislators Fan Sun-lu (
Other politicians and academics were, however, less enthusiastic about such restrictions.
Chen Shei-saint (陳學聖), a KMT legislator and current spokesman for the Lien Chan (連戰)-Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) presidential campaign said there could be forces other than politics that have been influencing Taiwan's media environment. Chen himself hosts various radio and TV programs, some of which are current affairs-based. He said there were media that were driven by commercial interests, and others by religious influences, "so political restriction cannot guarantee media independence."
"I have no answer for the question, but I also look forward to new plans for establishing a bias-free media," he said.
Chen said the most effective way to do this is through individual self-discipline. "When I host a program, I will adjust my criteria to maintain balance. And if I am biased, it would be reflected by the ratings of my program."
Su Herng (
She said that although maintaining an independent, interest-free media environment is a basic premise of media reform, in reality it is almost impossible to block politicians from media intervention. A longer-term direction is to make all media, including cable TV and the Internet, more diverse and accessible, she said.
In terms of legal regulation, Su said a notion of enhancing equal rights to use the media, rather than restriction, should be focused. Studies on European and Australian media regulation have shown a mechanism could be established to enhance accessibility, she said.
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
COVETED PRIZE: The US president would be a peace prize laureate should he persuade Xi Jinping to abandon military aggression against Taiwan, William Lai said US President Donald Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize should he be able to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to abandon the use of force against Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) told a conservative US radio show and podcast in an interview. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer, despite the absence of formal ties, but since Trump took office earlier this year he has not announced any new arms sales to the nation. Trump could meet Xi at the APEC summit in South Korea on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Lai, speaking on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
RSS