A National Communications Commission (NCC) official faced tough questioning yesterday at the legislature’s Transportation Committee over the commission’s review of the Want Want China Times Group’s proposal to purchase China Network Systems.
The session started off on a bad note as lawmakers were displeased to see that only one of the seven commissioners — National Communications Commission Chairperson Su Herng (蘇蘅) — was at the session.
The lawmakers asked Su why three of the commissioners had quit reviewing the case.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) asked whether the three commissioners were afraid to review the case, and suggested that since they had decided to avoid the case, then they should resign from their post.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuo Wen-cheng (郭玟成) said that having nearly half of the commissioners run away from reviewing a case was ridiculous.
DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) asked if the proposed merger would be decided by the four remaining commissioners — three of whom specialize in telecommunications or Internet communications.
Su said she had tried to invite the three commissioners back, but that according to regulations, the remaining four could continue the review process.
Legislators also expressed concern that approving the merger would lead to a media monopoly that could reduce media diversity and freedom of the press.
Citing the Rupert Murdoch and News Corp scandal, Lo said the commission should consider whether approving Want Want’s proposed merger would have the -effect of creating a media monster.
Yeh asked if the commission had done its research and investigated how many households would be affected by the merger.
When Su replied that the data had been provided by Want Want, Yeh said the commission should be more aggressive in acquiring information related to the case to win the public’s trust.
Yeh asked Su to set a clear deadline of when the commission could decide on a set of standards for reviewing the case.
“With no clear review standards, how can you tell us you will be able to review the case fairly,” Yeh said.
“You have to promise us that the decision would not be made before clear review standards are set,” Yeh said.
Su did not give Yeh a definitive answer except to repeatedly say: “We will make an effort,” adding that she would forward the lawmakers’ advice to the commission.
DPP Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) asked if the commission knew about a memo between Want Want and China Network Systems that the merger deal would end if Want Want could not gain its approval before the end of this year.
She urged the commission not to rush into a decision when there were still so many issues that need to be resolved to address public concerns.
Su said she did not know about the memo, but that the commission would follow strict standards in reviewing the case.
As for the legislators’ questions about whether Want Want’s merger funds include Chinese money and whether this might affect its media content, Su said investigation of the funding sources was done by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Su also maintained during the session that she could not answer some of the lawmakers’ questions because she could not make public the content of the ongoing review process and that as the commission works as a collegiate system, she could not represent the commission.
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
RSS