A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator yesterday accused the National Communications Commission (NCC) of abusing its authority by requiring Elta Technology Co to deal with the matter of the stake held by Delta Electronics Inc within three months.
KMT Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) told a press conference at the Legislative Yuan it was “ridiculous” for the NCC to demand that Elta Technology ask that Delta, which owns a 12.64 percent stake in Elta, based on the commission’s assertion that Delta Electronics is a “government-funded business.”
Tsai said the NCC argued that Delta Electronics should not have been allowed to invest in Elta Technology, a local content aggregator set up by Chunghwa Telecom Co, as all media outlets should be free from influence from any political party, the military or the government as stipulated in the Satellite Broadcasting Law (衛星廣播電視法).
Tsai questioned the NCC’s definition of what constitutes “government-funded businesses,” saying that only 3.29 percent of the shares in Delta Electronics were held by three government-managed funds, including the Labor Pension Fund (勞退基金) and the Civil Servants’ Pension Fund (退撫基金).
“The NCC overinterpreted the law by regarding companies in which the government holds any investment as government-funded businesses,” Tsai said.
Huang Chin-yi (黃金益), deputy director of the NCC’s Operational Administration Department, said that the Legislative Yuan passed a regulation in 2003 prohibiting political parties, the military and the government from attempting to influence any media outlet.
He said that while Delta Electronics’ investment did not constitute a violation, as the government did not own more than 50 percent of Delta Electronics’ stock, the commission needed to apply the strictest possible standards to prevent the possibility of state interference in any media outlet.
“The organic statutes of the managing committees of the government-managed funds all show that the committees have some affiliation with the government,” Huang said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard