The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government and the pan-blue controlled legislature yesterday blamed each other for the failure to meet a legal deadline for the government's release of key media holdings.
The Broadcasting and Television Law (
The pan-blue camp blamed the administration for hindering the draft bill yesterday, and threatened to push through its own version of the bill to Friday's full legislative sitting for debate and possible passage into law -- with or without other parties' approval.
Their version provides for the formation of a "stake release supervisory committee" with membership in proportion to the seats each party has in the legislature. The government opposes such a committee on the grounds that it would be dominated by pan-blue appointees and so beholden to partisan interests.
The pan-blue camp also threatened to force through the confirmation of National Communications Commission (NCC) nominees during Friday's legislative session if caucuses fail to reach consensus on the issue on Wednesday, when Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) has called for cross-party negotiations.
But Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Pasuya Yao (
"We completed drafting the bill in June 2004 and hoped to see it passed into law by the end of 2004, so that TTV and CTS would have a year to release their public stakes," Yao said. "Unfortunately, the bill has been bogged down in legislative procedure."
Premier Frank Hsieh (
Hsieh also dismissed speculation that he pressured CTS General Manager Chiang Hsia (
On Sunday, the two government appointees at TTV and CTS, two stations in which the DPP-led government has a large stake, offered their joint resignations to show their support for the government's media reform plans.
Wang, however, dismissed Yao's remarks and criticized the GIO for being "indecisive."
"Such talk strikes me as very odd," Wang said. "[The GIO's] wishy-washy attitude confuses everyone. All caucuses should continue talks and if a consensus can be reached, I don't see why the bill can't become law during the current legislative session."
Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Tseng Tsahn-deng (
Tseng, who called for cross-party talks on the bill, said that the fourth cross-party talk failed to achieve any breakthroughs because of Yao's firm opposition to an accord reached during the third cross-party meeting, which included forming the "stake release" committee.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday acknowledged the resignation of government appointees at TTV and CTS and urged opposition caucuses to help pass the draft bill into law during this legislative session.
DPP caucus whip William Lai (
Lai also defended the GIO, saying it had been forced to respond to the KMT's deliberate delaying of the legislation and that the government has made several concessions during cross-party negotiations.
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Editorial: Standing up for the Fourth Estate
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