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.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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