The battle between Democratic Progressive Party legislator Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄) and popular TV talk show host Wang Ben-hu (汪笨湖) continued yesterday, with Shen saying that many political TV talk shows promote ethnic disharmony.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Shen inferred that Wang, through his new talk show on Chinese Television System (CTS,
"Some talk show hosts completely change their political stances overnight for the sake of ratings," Shen said yesterday.
Wang's talk show, Taiwan Advancement (
The popularity of live TV talk shows -- especially those featuring live call-in segments -- has greatly increased over the years following the deregulation of cable television. CTS' decision to air a political talk show in a prime time slot, however, has been controversial.
The war of words between Shen and Wang began on Tuesday, when Wang implied on his TV show that Shen was planning to form a political party with UFO Radio chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) and independent Legislator Sisy Chen (陳文茜), who have often been associated with the pan-blue camp.
Shen responded by criticizing the talk show format, calling them "a bubble TV phenomenon" and said he intended to burst the bubble for the public.
"All these heavyweight show hosts care about are ratings of their shows, and their sudden changes in political stance comes with personal agendas on ethnic ideology and the future of Taiwan; when all these elements are put together, a sensational and yet strange phenomenon emerges," Shen said.
Sisy Chen, in response to the suggestion made by Wang that she might form a political party with Shen and Jaw, said she was not pleased by the rumor and suggested Shen urge the Government Information Office to cancel Wang's show.
The Broadcasting and Television Law (
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