Days before the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) planned rally to highlight the issue of media monopolization, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said yesterday that his caucus would support legislation to address the problem.
Wu told a press conference that the KMT caucus would agree to amendments to the Radio and Television Act (廣播電視法), the Cable Television Act (有線電視法) and the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法) proposed by DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) to prevent media monopolies.
Wu’s comment marked a sharp change from the caucus’ previous position.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Public concern about media monopolization has risen after the acquisition of Hong Kong-based Next Media’s four outlets in Taiwan by a consortium that includes the son of pro-China tycoon Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), chairman of the Want Want China Times Group.
The acquisition still has to be approved by the Fair Trade Commission and the National Communications Commission.
The KMT caucus has previously refused to sign a petition by students and civic activists in support of legislation to guard against media monopolies, and boycotted legislative reviews of the amendments proposed by Yeh.
The amendments include a regulation that the number of channels owned by media operators and their related enterprises cannot account for more than one-tenth of all channels.
Wu said the KMT would also support the DPP’s proposal on regulations governing the electronic media and it would suggest that the print media also be covered by anti-media monopolization regulations.
Unlike the DPP, which he said had only focused on the sale of Next Media to the Want Want Group, the KMT opposes all media-monopolization cases, Wu said.
Wu said the caucus had refrained from commenting on the issue before, because it did not want to interfere in the Next Media acquisition.
The three amendments are to be reviewed at the legislature’s Transportation Committee today, with representatives from the Fair Trade Commission attending.
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
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
REWRITING HISTORY: China has been advocating a ‘correct’ interpretation of the victory over Japan that brings the CCP’s contributions to the forefront, an expert said An elderly Chinese war veteran’s shin still bears the mark of a bullet wound he sustained when fighting the Japanese as a teenager, a year before the end of World War II. Eighty years on, Li Jinshui’s scar remains as testimony to the bravery of Chinese troops in a conflict that killed millions of their people. However, the story behind China’s overthrow of the brutal Japanese occupation is deeply contested. Historians broadly agree that credit for victory lies primarily with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-led Republic of China (ROC) Army. Its leader, Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a
RSS