Media reform drive puts Trong Chai in a tough spot

Despite being a proponent of media reform, DPP Legislator Trong Chai (蔡同榮) is at odds with President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) actions to remove political and military influence from the media.

Chai, who concurrently serves as a DPP Central Standing Committee member and as chairman of Formosa Television Co (FTV), declined to step down from his post at FTV, despite pressure from the media and politicians for him to do so.

While reiterating that he founded FTV to break the KMT's control of terrestrial TV stations, Chai's leadership at FTV has been controversial since he took over the job in 1997.

The Journalist magazine quoted Yang Hsian-hong (楊憲宏), a former manager of FTV's news department, as saying that Chai had asked his department not to cover KMT and New Party candidates' campaign activities.

"Chai thinks that FTV gave too much coverage to KMT and New Party candidates, since their activities had received plenty of attention by the other three terrestrial TV stations [TTV, CTS, and CTV]," Yang was quoted as saying.

A former reporter, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "Chai has reiterated that FTV should promote Taiwan nationalism instead of Chinese nationalism."

Yang and Chai were involved in a fight over personnel at the FTV news department in 1997. Yang left FTV because of the incident.

Lee Yung-de (李永得), another former manager of the FTV news department, said that Chai doesn't respect reporters' professionalism.

"Chai urged me to stay in the news department, but asked me to help with his bid for the DPP chairmanship at the same time. How can a media organization like that have a future?" Lee said.

As a jogger, Chai's exercise habits are considered as a sign of his endurance.

Growing up in the martial law era, Chai, when he was a high school student, decided to become a politician to fight for Taiwan's independence. In 1956, Chai was the first non-KMT member to be elected as the chairman of National Taiwan University's Student Union.

"Because of that unfair treatment [by the KMT], I decided to demolish the authority," Chai said.

Accompanied by other students seeking to oust Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), Chai launched the largest ever anti-KMT conference in Kuantzuling (關子嶺), Tainan County, in 1960.

Chai had been black-listed by the KMT in September 1960. While studying in the US, he was banned from coming back to Taiwan.

The ban didn't lessen Chai's desire to promote independence. Chai founded the Formosan Association of Public Affairs in the US and was elected as its first chairman in January 1970.

Chai decided to promote referendum legislation in 1990, when he defied the ban on him by coming back to Taiwan.

Chai was invited to head FTV in 1996 after losing his bid to become a legislator at the end of 1995.

In a statement released by Chai's office last week, Chai said that he has four goals in life -- Taiwan's independence, complete social justice and democratization, the legalization of referendums and the end of the monopolization of the media market.

"Since the four goals have yet to be completely achieved, I will make my decision after evaluating the party's policy and related regulations," Chai said in the press release.

Shih Jing-wen (石靜文), president of the Association of Taiwan Journalists and a former deputy news director at FTV, said "I don't understand Chai's insistence."