Several TV stations were penalized by the National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday for running false news reports or allowing product placements in their news programs, with the aggregate penalty reaching approximately NT$5 million (US$150,000).
The commission punished, among others, TVBS-N, SET TV (三立新聞台) and ERA News (年代新聞) for failing to verify sources and misreporting that a fireman who tried to find victims of the collapsed Houfeng Bridge (后豐大橋) was dead. Each station was asked to pay a fine of NT$300,000.
CONTROVERSY
However, the commission did not punish TVBS for the controversial comments made by its anchorwoman Liao Ying-ting (廖盈婷) last month.
Because of a technical glitch, Liao, who was getting ready to take over the primetime news program on Sept. 27, was caught on TV cursing former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), saying: “That guy is a psycho. Tell him to cough up the money. He should eat shit.”
Chen’s office issued a statement later that night condemning the remarks.
TVBS later apologized and blamed the blunder on “technical negligence.”
The commission yesterday only told TVBS to reinforce its quality control mechanism.
INDEPENDENT PANEL
The punishments meted out yesterday were recommended by an independent panel entrusted by the commission to review television news and other programs. The commission adopted and approved the panel’s recommendations and announced them in its weekly press conference yesterday.
The ruling was by far the severest handed down by the new batch of NCC commissioners, who took office in August.
The penalty for Formosa Television (FTV, 民視) topped NT$1.6 million, the largest among all TV stations.
FTV's violations included an evening news report claiming that the viewership rating of Niang Chia (娘家), a Taiwanese drama series produced by FTV, had set new records, as well as repeatedly showing fruit juice and ice cream brands during its news reports.
Chinese Television System (CTS, 華視) was asked to pay NT$840,000 for reporting on a brand of women's underwear, an online game and organic food in its news programs.
ENDORSEMENTS
Jason Ho, director of the NCC's communications content department, said the penalty for each channel was determined based on its record and the seriousness of the case.
“Product placements are one of the major things that the panel focuses on when reviewing the programs,” Ho said.
The NCC started reviewing the programs after audiences filed complaints with the commission.
Japanese footwear brand Onitsuka Tiger today issued a public apology and said it has suspended an employee amid allegations that the staff member discriminated against a Vietnamese customer at its Taipei 101 store. Posting on the social media platform Threads yesterday, a user said that an employee at the store said that “those shoes are very expensive” when her friend, who is a migrant worker from Vietnam, asked for assistance. The employee then ignored her until she asked again, to which she replied: "We don't have a size 37." The post had amassed nearly 26,000 likes and 916 comments as of this
US President Donald Trump said "it’s up to" Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be "very unhappy" with a change in the "status quo," the New York Times said in an interview published yesterday. Xi "considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing," Trump told the newspaper on Wednesday. "But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that," he added. "I hope he doesn’t do that." Trump made the comments in
Tourism in Kenting fell to a historic low for the second consecutive year last year, impacting hotels and other local businesses that rely on a steady stream of domestic tourists, the latest data showed. A total of 2.139 million tourists visited Kenting last year, down slightly from 2.14 million in 2024, the data showed. The number of tourists who visited the national park on the Hengchun Peninsula peaked in 2015 at 8.37 million people. That number has been below 2.2 million for two years, although there was a spike in October last year due to multiple long weekends. The occupancy rate for hotels
A cold surge advisory was today issued for 18 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures of below 10°C forecast during the day and into tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties are expected to experience sustained temperatures of 10°C or lower, the CWA said. Temperatures are likely to temporarily drop below 10°C in most other areas, except Taitung, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, CWA data showed. The cold weather is being caused by a strong continental cold air mass, combined with radiative cooling, a process in which heat escapes from
RSS