National Chengchi University’s director of the Department of Journalism Su Herng (蘇蘅) was elected yesterday as the new chairperson of the National Communications Commission (NCC) to complete the remainder of the term left by predecessor Bonnie Peng (彭芸).
The result came as no surprise to some people as Su was said to be the potential successor of Peng.
A source within the commission, who spoke on condition of anonymity, indicated that Su and another commissioner ran for the chairmanship. Su beat the other commissioner by garnering four of the total seven votes, the sources said.
PHOTO: CNA
“Some commissioners felt that the NCC is an independent establishment within the central government and that the commissioners should safeguard the power to make decisions independently bestowed to them by the Constitution,” the source said. “They decided to recommend another commissioner and placed that person on the ballot.”
When asked how she planned to handle the Next TV case, Su said she would need some time to look into the case to form her opinion.
Last week, the commission approved the establishment of Next TV’s sports channel, but decided to continue the review on the network’s applications for news, information and entertainment channels.
Peng tendered her resignation in May as the Department of Journalism at National Chengchi University had only allowed her to be on leave for two years.
In her farewell speech, Peng defended against criticism leveled against the commission.
“I absolutely do not agree whenever someone says that NCC stands for ‘No Communications Commission,’” Peng said, citing examples that civic interest groups were allowed to participate in any of the discussions on policies and that the commission communicated with media experts and industry representatives nationwide when amending three major broadcasting laws.
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