A program on TV channel CTi News was found to have apparently included Taiwan as part of Chinese territory in a background graphic, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday, adding that the channel’s ethics committee has been asked to review the content.
The commission in May received a complaint from a viewer about a map used in one of the channel’s programs introducing the latest socioeconomic developments in China, NCC spokesman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said.
A video of the program, which aired on May 20, shows a map that has Taiwan and China. While there is a Chinese national flag displayed over China, no national flag is shown for Taiwan. Both are red on the map, giving the appearance that Taiwan is part of China.
Photo copied from the Internet
“The viewer said the map shows that the program had a predetermined political agenda and did not reflect the ‘status quo,’” Wong said. “Even though our staff did not find that the channel contravened any media regulations for showing such a map, the case was discussed by an independent content review committee comprised of experts from various fields.”
The review committee concluded that the program might have contradicted CTi News’ own news ethics guidelines and recommended that the ethics committee review the case first, he said.
The channel must send the minutes of the ethics committee’s meetings on the case to the commission, Wong said.
The channel must also upload the minutes to its Web site so the public can see how the case was handled, he said.
The records would be used to evaluate the channel’s performance and help the commission determine if it is qualified for a license renewal, he added.
One of the channel’s ethics guidelines stipulates that it must fairly report different opinions and must not report any event with a preconceived position or in ways that cause conflicts based on gender, between different ethnic groups or between Taiwanese independence and unification supporters.
Separately, Eastern TV’s financial news channel was fined NT$400,000 after one of its programs was found to have failed to distinguish between its content and commercials.
In an episode that aired on June 1, the program invited special guests to introduce real-estate projects in New Taipei City’s Banciao (板橋), Yonghe (永和) and Sinjhuang (新莊) districts, the commission said.
However, more than 20 minutes of the segment focused on introducing a real-estate project of Mao Te International Investment Co, which is Eastern TV’s largest shareholder, it said.
In addition to the fine, Eastern TV has been asked to have the case reviewed by its ethics committee, the commission said, adding that the committee’s members should focus on how the network should properly report on events in which it is involved.
The minutes of the committee’s meetings should also be made public and delivered to the commission, Wong said.
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