The government, political parties, and officials from political parties, would be prohibited from operating and investing in local broadcast media, if the amendment to the Broadcasting and Television Law (
According to the amendment, the government would be required to release or sell their broadcast media shares six months after the amendment becomes law.
Political parties investing in or operating broadcast media would be required to sell their shares of the media organizations within three years.
Officials from political parties operating broadcast media would be required to either resign from political posts or quit their positions at the media organizations within three years.
Currently, 24.36 percent of Taiwan Television shares and 36.25 percent of Chinese Television System shares are held by the government. The KMT owns 35.59 percent of CTV's shares, while Formosa TV' s board is chaired by DPP Central Standing Committee member Trong Tsai (蔡同榮) and Global TV's board is chaired by DPP Central Standing Committee member Chang Chun-hung (張俊宏).
The Legislative Yuan's Education, Info-tech, and Judiciary committees and the Government Information Office (GIO) reached an agreement over the reform of two government-owned terrestrial TV stations -- one station will become public and the other will be privatized. Which station would be privatized or made public has yet to be decided. The final decision will be made in the Legislative Yuan.
How to eliminate the political influence from broadcast media has been a controversial issue for a long time. Academics, non-governmental organizations and lawmakers are calling on all political parties and politicians to divest themselves of their interests in media organizations.
The three committees invited GIO Director-General Arthur Iap (
Under Iap's proposal, the government would have to pay NT$1.9 billion to buy the remaining 75.64 percent stake in TTV to make it a public station, while it would earn NT$1.5 billion by selling its 36.25 percent stake in CTS. Alternatively, it could earn NT$677 million from selling its 24.36 stake in TTV, but have to pay NT$2.6 billion to buy the remaining 63.75 percent of CTS.
KMT Spokesman Justine Chou (周守訓) yesterday reacted to the amendment's first reading, saying "We will follow the law closely and sell our shares of media organizations."
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard