Taipei Times: There were so many arguments in favor and against the GIO's decision to renew the operating licenses of certain television stations. Will the GIO do something differently or carry out new policies when these licenses are due again in six years?
Pasuya Yao: The GIO will not be the government office in charge of renewing the licenses in six years, I hope. We are looking forward to the establishment of the National Communications Committee (NCC), and are hoping that lawmakers will help draft the laws to establish the organization as soon as possible.
In the meantime, we are also hoping that the NCC will win the public's trust and support. Only the public's trust and support will neutralize the organization and help NCC officials avoid potential criticism or complaints when they are carrying out their responsibilities in the future. I strongly doubt whether future NCC members could do a better job than what the GIO is doing right now, if the NCC does not win the public's trust and support.
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-TEH, TAIPEI TIMES
To win that trust and support, politics must be withdrawn from the organization. Some have suggested that NCC membership must be distributed to different parties according to an appropriate ratio. I think these kinds of suggestions will not be used. Just simply leave a free and independent space for real professionals to be able to do their work. That is what I am hoping.
Speaking of which, the GIO actually renewed TV channels by following the current laws. The regulations on license renewal are merely a constant reminder to local media workers that we shall maintain a moral attitude toward this business. This does not have to do with freedom of speech or politics.
TT: Some TV owners whose renewal applications were rejected have been complaining. How do you cope with that?
Yao: These people do not understand. In addition to their constant violations of the law, they were rejected because the content of their programs described on their applications do not match what was really broadcast on the air over the past six years. That was why we decided not to continue their licenses.
TT: You've said that you're hoping to be the last GIO minister. Can you explain?
Yao: Yes. My biggest frustration is that even when I work hard, it is still easy for me to be the target of condemnation, because in the past the GIO used to be a government office that brainwashed the public. Such an office should now just be a part of history. The GIO's job shall be carried out by a neutral organization such as the NCC.
TT: Are the minister's duties similar to what you expected before you took the oath? Have you experienced more frustration or encouragement?
Yao: Promoting the local film industry has always been my priority as a minister. I have been working on it and my hard work has been recognized, too.
I love challenges. Challenges have inspired passion and courage in me. It is okay with me if there are complaints, because I will still carry out my promises, no matter what. It has been only five months since I've taken the oath. I still have time to prove that I am a man of my word.
TT: The Public Television Service is planning to apply for another four new channels, including foreign language channels. Is this really necessary?
Yao: I tell you, maybe this is not enough. We have more and more foreign spouses, foreign workers and foreign visitors. We have been receiving complaints from them that there aren't enough TV programs in their own language. If this problem is not solved, it will create more social problems because these foreigners also have their needs for daily entertainment. In addition, we also need more channels to promote our own cultural stuff. We need our voice to be heard.
TT: Do you adjust your daily schedule due to your heavy workload as a minister?
Yao: Yes, of course. I used to watch a movie at home almost every day. However, ever since I took the office, I only get to do that maybe once or twice a week.
I love movies a lot, and that was why I applied to Fu Jen University's Department of Mass Communication. But after enrolling, I realized it wasn't what I thought it was.
In addition to movies, I love playing basketball, going swimming and mountain biking. But playing basketball is my only hobby now, and I can only do that about once a month.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
REVENGE TRAVEL: A surge in ticket prices should ease this year, but inflation would likely keep tickets at a higher price than before the pandemic Scoot is to offer six additional flights between Singapore and Northeast Asia, with all routes transiting Taipei from April 1, as the budget airline continues to resume operations that were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, a Scoot official said on Thursday. Vice president of sales Lee Yong Sin (李榮新) said at a gathering with reporters in Taipei that the number of flights from Singapore to Japan and South Korea with a stop in Taiwan would increase from 15 to 21 each week. That change means the number of the Singapore-Taiwan-Tokyo flights per week would increase from seven to 12, while Singapore-Taiwan-Seoul
BAD NEIGHBORS: China took fourth place among countries spreading disinformation, with Hong Kong being used as a hub to spread propaganda, a V-Dem study found Taiwan has been rated as the country most affected by disinformation for the 11th consecutive year in a study by the global research project Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem). The nation continues to be a target of disinformation originating from China, and Hong Kong is increasingly being used as a base from which to disseminate that disinformation, the report said. After Taiwan, Latvia and Palestine ranked second and third respectively, while Nicaragua, North Korea, Venezuela and China, in that order, were the countries that spread the most disinformation, the report said. Each country listed in the report was given a score,
POOR PREPARATION: Cultures can form on food that is out of refrigeration for too long and cooking does not reliably neutralize their toxins, an epidemiologist said Medical professionals yesterday said that suspected food poisoning deaths revolving around a restaurant at Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 Store in Taipei could have been caused by one of several types of bacterium. Ho Mei-shang (何美鄉), an epidemiologist at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Biomedical Sciences, wrote on Facebook that the death of a 39-year-old customer of the restaurant suggests the toxin involved was either “highly potent or present in massive large quantities.” People who ate at the restaurant showed symptoms within hours of consuming the food, suggesting that the poisoning resulted from contamination by a toxin and not infection of the