The National Communications Commission’s (NCC) handling of complaints about a Public Television Service (PTS) news talk show drew criticism from the host, lawmakers and Internet users who feared that it may become de facto censorship.
You Hua Hao Shuo (有話好說)—which can be roughly translated as “Let’s Talk Calmly”— is a daily news talk show in which supporters and opponents of a particular policy are invited to present each side’s arguments.
While the host, Chen Hsin-tsung (陳信聰) and the guests mainly talk in Mandarin, they also switch to Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese) from time to time depending on the situation.
Since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office in May last year and promoted closer cross-strait relations, the show has discussed the government’s China policies and many guests have voiced concerns that the developments in cross-strait relations have been rushed.
The language issue and debate on China policy upset some viewers, who filed complaints with the NCC, which forwarded them to PTS, asking it to respond to both the complainants and the NCC.
A complaint forwarded by the NCC in July last year said that too much Hoklo was used in the show, while the latest complaint forwarded by the NCC on Wednesday said that the show had lost its neutrality as a media outlet because it was too critical of China.
“I think the NCC didn’t mean to intimidate us by sending the letters, they’re just forwarding the complaints to us following the standard operation procedure,” Chen told the Taipei Times. “But the NCC could have handled it in a better way.”
He said that as the government authority in supervising the TV stations, any letter forwarded by the NCC to the production team of a TV show may make the station feel pressured and change the form of the show.
“If we didn’t do anything that breaks the law, why can’t the NCC filter the complaints, and maybe reply to the people who filed the complaints with them?” Chen asked.
When Chen posted a message about it on the online social networking service Plurk.com, most Plurkers did not hesitate to criticize the NCC.
Some questioned whether the NCC was violating free speech, while others feared that it may be a sign of the return of a police state.
Legislators also criticized the way the NCC handled the issue.
“The NCC should be more careful as it may be creating de facto censorship,” Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said. “I wonder if TV stations will receive messages from the NCC complaining that they criticized the government or a certain political party too much.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Li-huan (楊麗環) also said the way the NCC had handled the situation was “not good.”
“The NCC should take a closer look into the complaints and directly reply to the complainers when necessary,” Yang said. “They should’ve handled it more skillfully.”
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