National Communications Commission (NCC) Chairman Howard Shyr (石世豪) yesterday said the commission’s ruling on Want Want China Times Group’s purchase of cable TV services owned by China Network Systems (CNS) remain unchanged and that the transaction would not take effect until the group fulfilled each and every requirement issued by the commission.
Shyr made the comments during a review at the legislature’s Transportation Committee of how Want Want China Times Group plans to fulfill the requirements.
The preconditions include that group chairman Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明) and his family members, as well as his business associates in the deal, must completely dissociate themselves from the operation of CtiTV News. In addition, China Television’s (CTV) digital news channel must be turned into a non-news channel. As a TV network, CTV must have an independent editorial system as well.
Photo: Lin Yi-chang, Taipei Times
“The commission has already ruled on the case [Want Want-CNS deal] and the ruling has already been delivered [Want Want],” Shyr said. “Both the group and the commission are bound by the ruling.”
Shyr confirmed that the group has already filed an administrative lawsuit against the commission over these requirements.
Despite the pending lawsuit, the group still needs to fulfill these requirements for the transaction to take effect, he said.
Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信) asked if the Tsai family could place the shares they own in CTiTV News under a third-party trustee to meet the commission’s requirement. Shyr said the method may only change the nominal ownership of the asset, adding that the commission will determine if Tsai has indeed cut off his relations with CTiTV News.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said on Tuesday during the release of the nation’s first human rights report in English that he did not want the media in the nation to present only one viewpoint.
Hsu asked Shyr for his views on Ma’s remarks, adding that his personal interpretation was that Ma did not want Taiwan to become a “heaven for pro-China opinions.”
Hsu said the issue of China’s acquisition of Taiwanese media should be addressed as a matter of national security.
In response, Shyr said the last thing a democratic country wanted was to have its media convey only one viewpoint.
Should the media acquisition involve national security issues, the commission would work closely with relevant government agencies, he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Li-huan (楊麗環) asked Shyr if he thought that certain groups have indeed monopolized the operations of the nation’s media outlets. Shyr said that owning more media outlets gives a media group more economic power. However, he said that that this did not mean that the group could have absolute control over the expression of public opinion.
“Public opinion in Taiwan is very diverse and has multiple ways to be expressed,” he said. “The student protests against media monopolization, for example, were organized through online media.”
Shyr also said that research on media monopolization mainly focused on whether it hindered exposure to certain opinions or news, or how the media group utilizes the advantage to create certain trends.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS