Civic groups and film directors rallied outside the Legislative Yuan in support of the Public Television Systems (PTS) yesterday, demanding that the legislature unfreeze PTS’ budget and remove a budget review resolution adopted earlier this month.
“If lawmakers think PTS has some problems, it should try to resolve them according to the law, or by asking PTS management during question-and-answer sessions at legislative meetings.
If they believe there are problems with PTS board directors [they should] expose the problems to the public,” film director Lin Cheng-sheng (林正盛) told the demonstrators. “PTS is supposed to be the TV station of the public.”
“But never, never, try to sanction the PTS by freezing its budget,” he said.
The Legislative Yuan froze PTS’ budget of NT$900 million (US$27 million) last year. Half of that was unfrozen earlier this year, while the rest remains frozen.
Earlier this month, the Leglislative Yuan passed a resolution proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus stipulating that all budgets for PTS programs must be subject to case-by-case review before being approved and used.
The move was seen by many as a revival of censorship. The government and the KMT caucus argued that only the budget, not program content, would be reviewed.
Many, including Chuang Yi-tseng (莊益增), the director of the documentary Let It Be (無米樂), are unhappy about the situation.
“We don’t really trust our legislature or the government,” Chuang said. “Of course they say they wouldn’t look at the content, but I wonder if my documentary would have passed the budget review if the review system were in place.”
Let It Be, released in 2004 and funded by the PTS, was a documentary that criticized the government’s agricultural policy.
Media Watch chairman Kuang Chung-shiang (管中祥) agreed.
“You can call it merely budget control, but what would people really think when they send in their film proposal for budget review? Wouldn’t there be a psychological impact, whether intended or not?” Kuang asked.
So far, the KMT caucus remains insistent on the proposal and the groups urged all PTS supporters to join a protest on Jan. 1.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS