SET-TV could be fined if it is found to have ignored a Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) request to correct or respond to statements made on a talk show, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday.
In response, the show said it never received any request from the MAC, adding that the council apparently faxed it to a wrong number.
The wrangle stems from an outburst by Talking Show (大話新聞) host Cheng Hung-yi (鄭弘儀) at a rally on Sunday. Commenting on subsidies for Chinese students in Taiwan, Cheng used the word “motherfucker.” The next day he apologized, saying his words were not to be taken personally.
The MAC said the program has been in place since the former Democratic Progressive Party administration, adding that Cheng had given out false information.
The MAC said it had asked Cheng to correct his statements through three separate facsimiles.
At a press conference held by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday, MAC Department of Cultural and Educational Affairs Director Chen Hui-ying (陳會英) showed copies of the council’s fax records, showing it sent Talking Show a fax on July 6 asking it to correct its stance on the subsidies. Chen said the council also faxed the show a clarification on the subsidy program on three to four other occasions.
A closer look at the fax records, however, shows that the council incorrectly faxed its statement to the number (02) 8792-7101, whereas the correct fax number for Talking Show is (02)8792-7107.
In response, Chen said the council obtained the fax number from a TV program and the Internet.
At a separate setting yesterday, NCC Communication Content Department Director Jason Ho (何吉森) said Article 30 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法) states that “if an involved party considers a satellite broadcasting program or advertisement to be erroneous, the said party may request a correction within 20 days of its broadcast.”
It also says that the satellite broadcasting business must make the correction in the same program or in an advertisement in the same time slot, within 20 days of receiving the request, Ho said, adding that if the broadcaster considers that no error has been made, it shall state its reasons in a written response to the said party.
Ho said if SET violated Article 30, a warning can be issued. If SET takes no action, it could be fined between NT$100,000 (US$3,310) and NT$1 million.
Although the programs were aired some time ago, the MAC has the right to ask SET to correct statements, he said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG AND STAFF WRITER
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
RSS