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NCC fines SET-TV NT$1 million for misleading public

The National Communications Commission (NCC) ruled yesterday that SET-TV will be fined NT$1 million (US$30,000) for misleading the public to believe that footage from the Chinese Civil War was from the 228 Incident.

SET-TV broadcast a series of special reports on the 228 Incident between March 3 and March 7. The 13 episodes were part of a program called Formosa Notes anchored by SET-TV News chief editor Chen Ya-lin (陳雅琳).

The 228 Incident refers to the uprising that began on Feb. 27, 1947, against the KMT regime. The KMT crushed the uprising by killing tens of thousands of Taiwanese.

The Chinese-language United Daily News last week said that SET-TV had passed off an image of a KMT officer executing a Chinese Communist Party member in Shanghai in 1948 as that of a Taiwanese being killed by the KMT during the 228 Incident.

SET-TV later apologized for its misuse of the footage, saying that it was an unintentional mix-up.

The NCC yesterday ruled that SET-TV's general manager and other key personnel must attend educational sessions on journalistic ethics for at least eight hours within a two month period.

They are also required to turn in a list of projects that the station was entrusted with producing over the past two years within 15 days, the NCC said.

The station was also asked to amend its quality control mechanism with 15 days.

NCC spokesperson Howard Shyr (石世豪) said the station was entrusted by the government to produce the documentary and was legally bound to present a truthful account.

The documentary, however, misled the audience by broadcasting the wrong footage, he said.

The station's management have all said they were either not involved in the film-making process or had no knowledge the footage was not from the 228 Incident.

Shyr said the commission's review committee had found the history was portrayed in an inappropriately emotional and dramatic manner, which was a violation of journalistic ethics.

A Central News Agency report yesterday said SET-TV spokesperson Chang Cheng-feng (張正芬) said the station would not comment until it received official documents from the NCC.

Also see story:
Editorial: This partisan NCC is out of control

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