The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday fined CtiTV News a total of NT$1.6 million (US$51,473) for contravening the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法) by failing to verify information before broadcasts.
As of yesterday, the cable TV news channel has this year accumulated NT$5.53 million in fines, commission data showed.
The channel had previously been fined NT$1 million for failing to verify the information that a pomelo farmer provided on a political talk show before it aired.
Photo: Liu Li-jen, Taipei Times
The Cti TV News claimed in a segment it aired on March 27 that it was the nation’s only TV news station to receive a NT$1 million fine from the commission for airing a false report about the Chinese embassy dispatching tour buses to rescue Chinese stranded at Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan, during a typhoon in September last year, even though other news channels had reported the story.
However, that NT$1 million fine was not for that broadcast, but rather for reporting that Representative to Singapore Francis Liang (梁國新) was monitoring the movements of Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) during his February visit on the government’s behalf and an unsubstantiated report about “auspicious clouds” appearing when Han campaigned last year with now-New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and now-Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕), with fines of NT$600,000 and NT$400,000 respectively, NCC acting spokesman Hsiao Chi-hung (蕭祈宏) said yesterday.
CtiTV News used a similar tactic in its midday and evening news broadcasts on March 28, claiming that it had been penalized NT$1 million for airing too many reports about Han, Hsiao said yesterday, adding that it apparently wanted people to believe that it was being fined for excessive coverage of Han.
“We announced the fines handed down to CtiTV News in our weekly news conference and issued a news release. These are facts,” Hsiao said.
“However, members of the independent content review committee found that CtiTV News did not report on the real reasons why it was punished by the commission,” he said.
“They said that the station twisted the facts and failed to adhere to the principles of professional journalism, and that it might have intended to use these reports to mislead and manipulate its audience, which clearly contravene the fact-checking principle of the act,” Hsiao said.
The commission accepted the committee’s suggestion that CtiTV News be fined for the content of its news programming on March 27 and 28, imposing fines of NT$800,000 per incident, he added.
Separately, Sanlih TV News has been fined NT$200,000 for broadcasting in its midday news on March 29 a false report about Han spending NT$2.8 million to recruit an army of netizens to attack his opponents or boost his popularity, the commission said.
TVBS was also fined NT$200,000 for failing to verify an allegation by former Presidential Office spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) on its late-night news on May 6 that certain Internet companies had accepted requests to attack specific individuals.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS