Hakka TV and Taiwan Indigenous Television (TITV) used to be the only [non-Mandarin] mother-tongue TV stations in Taiwan, while there was no TV station dedicated to Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese), the mother tongue of the nation’s largest ethnic group, until the establishment of PTS Taigi, a digital TV station operated by the Taiwan Public Television Service Foundation (PTS) that is the nation’s first around-the-clock channel dedicated to Hoklo.
At first, PTS Taigi did not have a clearly defined organizational structure or level in the governmental hierarchy. The board of directors at the time approved a temporary structure based on that of the PTS Main Channel, with ministerial-level departments set up under the station’s director, making the PTS Taigi director equal to the Hakka TV and TITV directors, which was reasonable and legal.
At the end of last month, the outgoing board of directors passed the Organic Regulations of PTS Taigi under Taiwan Public Television Service Foundation (財團法人公共電視文化事業基金會臺語頻道組織規程). Under the regulations, PTS Taigi is funded by a PTS project budget subsidized by the Ministry of Culture, thus downgrading the station’s status from that of a ministerial-level unit to an internal PTS unit, and making the station’s director an internal PTS manager.
The new regulations require the head of PTS Taigi, although still called a “director,” to be appointed through the same public selection procedure used for the Hakka TV and TITV directors, even though the existing regulations do not require other PTS managers below that of vice president to undergo public selection.
The PTS Taigi organic regulations are causing language discrimination, as the public would get the impression that the government considers Taiwanese and PTS Taigi to be less important than other local languages. Requiring the PTS Taigi director to undergo public selection means PTS Taigi must meet the standards for higher-level organizations while being given a lower status.
Not only will this have a negative impact on the development of PTS Taigi, it also contravenes the guiding principle of language equality enshrined in the Development of National Languages Act (國家語言發展法).
Another inequity is that PTS Taigi does not have an advisory committee, like Hakka TV and TITV, whose advisory committees are composed of experts familiar with Hakka and Aboriginal affairs in media and mass communications.
These experts ensure that the channels’ operations do not deviate from the guidelines. A proposal to establish an advisory committee for PTS Taigi was put forward, but quickly rejected.
The PTS board members might not have expertise in Taiwanese communications or a deep understanding of the task of language revitalization ascribed to an ethnic/language TV station. When making decisions, they might ignore this task, which is a crucial one for ethnic/language TV stations.
The PTS board of directors should promptly revise the organic regulations for PTS Taigi and restore its original status to match that of other ethnic TV stations, while the board of directors should promptly establish an advisory committee for PTS Taigi to ensure the quality of its operations and to help it shoulder the responsibility bestowed upon it by the Development of National Languages Act.
Ho Hsin-han is an associate professor in the National Taichung University of Education department of Taiwanese languages and literature. Zheng An-zhu is a member of the Ministry of Education’s National Language Education Promotion Committee. Tan Hong-hui is CEO of the Li-kang Khioh Taiwanese Foundation.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
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