The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday confirmed that it received a complaint from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), in which she accused CTi TV News (中天新聞) of misinterpreting what she said at a campaign rally for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁).
The commission has asked CTi TV News to respond to Chiu’s request, or make appropriate corrections, within 20 days of the broadcast.
The controversy began on Sunday when Chiu was hosting a campaign rally for Chen in Kaohsiung’s Cishan District (旗山).
Photo: Ko Yu-hao, Taipei Times
Toward the end of the rally, she thanked supporters in Taiwanese for continuing to stay at the rally (“Mo-li-kui” in Taiwanese), but the television station reported that Chiu was asking people not to leave (“Mai-li-kui”), as the rally had not ended.
Chiu said this misinterpretation of her announcement affected the tone of Chen’s campaign.
NCC spokesperson Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said Chiu filed a complaint with the commission as the main party involved in the dispute.
Article 44 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法) says that if an involved party considers a satellite broadcasting program or advertisement to be erroneous, they can request a correction within 20 days of the broadcast, Wong said, adding that the satellite broadcaster must make the correction in the same program, or in an advertisement in the same time slot, within 20 days of receiving the request.
If the broadcaster thinks the program or advertisement contained no error, then they must explain their reasoning in a written response to the concerned party, Wong said.
If CTi TV contravenes Article 44, the station could face a warning or receive a fine of between NT$200,000 and NT$2 million (US$6,466 and US$64,658).
As the commission has received similar complaints from others who attended the event, it has given an independent committee the task of reviewing the content, it said.
The commission issued a statement reminding TV news channels to follow regulations in the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視) and the Radio and Television Act (廣播電視法) on covering political elections.
Article 49 of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act says that broadcast TV enterprises must treat candidates in a fair and just manner; they cannot discriminate without just cause if any of the candidates are invited on the program or are involved in reporting on the election.
Wong said the commission would consult with the Central Election Committee (CEC) on how to handle inappropriate information or disinformation communicated by referendum groups in CEC-organized public debates, which are G-rated programs.
Some lawmakers have said that the referendum groups opposing same-sex marriage have provided incorrect health information in the debates.
They have recommended that the commission take corrective measures against the groups under the Regulations Governing the Classification of Television Programs (電視節目分級處理辦法).
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