The Legislative Yuan yesterday announced the launch of two official parliament television channels, which are to broadcast legislative proceedings live from Friday, the first day of the new legislative session.
The legislative proceedings, including general assembly meetings and committee meetings, had since April last year been broadcast in a pilot project on three commercial television networks commissioned by the legislature.
The official broadcasts are to be aired on public channels 123 and 124 and are governed by the Public Television Service Foundation.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“Twenty-three new media outlets also helped broadcast the legislative meetings in the past year and together they counted more than 10 million viewers, which shows there is a need and public expectation for an open and monitored legislature,” legislative speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) said.
“Many other democracies, such as the US, the UK, Japan and South Korea, have long had parliament TV. Ours has been planned and set up within a year,” he said, applauding the nation’s swift action.
Su last year pledged a more transparent and open Legislative Yuan, and broadcasting of legislative sessions was one of those promises.
The legislature consented to the pilot project in March last year and in November last year finalized amendments to set up official channels to be operated by the Public Television Service Foundation.
The nation’s major multiple system operators, independent cable system operators and Chunghwa Telecom Co’s media-on-demand TV service agreed to air the legislative sessions on channels 123 and 124, Su said.
The channel numbers were selected to echo World Freedom Day on Jan. 23, as liberty and equality are creeds of the Legislative Yuan, Su added.
Each of the two channels is to broadcast four of the eight legislative committees live on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and the general assembly floor meetings on Tuesdays and Fridays are to be simulcast.
Taiwanese sign language translation is to be available for the premier’s policy report at the Legislative Yuan, as it was in the last session, and as of this session, real-time sign language translation is to be broadcast for the question-and-answer session.
Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said more transparency and public oversight would reduce the chances of misunderstanding and curb mudslinging among lawmakers.
New Power Party Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said the TV channels would help boost the public’s trust in government agencies.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) and People First Party Legislator Chen Yi-chieh (陳怡潔) called for interparty cooperation for better policies and image.
“We hope that what people watch on TV will not be our brawls,” Chen said.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS