Representatives from Taiwan Media Watch and 67 other civic groups gathered outside Chunghwa Telecom yesterday morning, saying that they refused to endorse the draft of a new communications law produced by the National Communications Commission (NCC).
The new law will integrate the three existing communication laws -- the Satellite and Broadcasting Law (
The NCC held the first hearing in September to discuss the first draft of the new law. The administration was scheduled to hold the second hearing yesterday to talk about the second draft, which has taken into account suggestions from interest groups that attended the first hearing, as well as other unresolved issues.
PHOTO: CNA
Media Watch president Kuan Chung-hsiang (
Rather, Kuan said, the commission has aligned itself with private corporations, lifting many restrictions previously used to regulate the media.
"The meeting inside [Chunghwa Telecom] is the commission's private hearing with big business," he said.
Kuan also mentioned they opposed the draft because it frees the network operators from paying the government special fees that could be used to support the universal telecommunications service.
Kuan noted that the second draft allows overseas investors to own up to 49 percent of shares in the nation's broadcast television companies.
Meanwhile, the law gives large corporations more liberty to run different media outlets by removing all previous controls.
Moreover, the draft has drastically reduced penalties for media operators who break the law.
Also, the law does not specify the exact percentage of television programs to be locally produced, he said.
Lo Shih-hung (
They [the commissioners] don't have to wait until next year to resign," Lo said. "They could just step down today [yesterday]."
In response, NCC spokesperson Howard Shyr (
Shyr said that the group has issued many false statements.
He said the commission has displayed all the relevant information regarding the new communication law on its official Web site, which essentially answered all the questions raised by Taiwan Media Watch.
Shyr indicated that the special fee was collected only from cable service operators and was going to be used for three purposes. This involves how the budget should be allocated and how the fees collected from a sector are able to subsidize the operation of a completely different sector, he said.
"Any public policy should be discussed in a professional manner," he said. "Irrational verbal disputes are simply meaningless."
Based on information provided by NCC, 49 percent cap on overseas investors' shareholding is applied to regulate telecommunication service operators, not broadcast television operators.
The commission has further regulated the universal service fee, deeming the charge of a special fund as unnecessary. Meanwhile, the law requires the Executive Yuan to appropriate adequate funds to the Public Television Service Foundation.
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