The National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday it will soon release a report on the shortcomings of last month’s television coverage of the Beijing Olympics. The report follows numerous complaints from viewers unhappy about the quality of broadcasts on the sports extravaganza.
After the Olympics, the commission entrusted an independent panel to review the performances of four television stations that had the rights to broadcast the Games: Taiwan Television (TTV,台視), China Television (CTV, 中視), Chinese Television System (CTS, 華視) and Formosa Television (FTV, 民視).
The panel has found that CTS was the only station that followed time limits for ad breaks.
FTV, on the other hand, was found to have inappropriately interrupted broadcasts with ads on three occasions, while CTV was reported to have canceled the coverage of a basketball game without prior notice and rerun the Games opening ceremony in its place.
More details of the investigation are expected in the next few weeks.
For the 2010 Soccer World Cup and 2012 London Olympics, the commission recommended that coverage not be restricted to the four channels.
Rather, cable television stations that could provide a digital service should be given the opportunity to cover the events as well.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS