“Untruthful or unfair news content” remained the No. 1 source of complaints about the broadcast media last year, the same as 2011, the National Communications Commission’s (NCC) communication content report showed.
The commission received a total of 2,674 complaints about broadcasting content last year, of which 494 cases were related to alleged untruthful or unfair broadcasting content.
In addition, there were 439 cases in which people conveyed their opinions about the overall communications environment, policy and regulations. They include the necessity of regulating political commentators, reducing negative news coverage and the practice of product placement, increasing international news coverage and lowering program rerun rates.
The commission’s communication content department director Jason Ho (何吉森) said the complaints about untruthful or unfair media contents were mainly directed at TV news and political talk shows.
“Commentaries conveyed through these programs involve freedom of speech and the commission tried not to intervene, exercising maximum tolerance,” Ho said.
“Many legislators have also expressed concerns that television news is becoming more like ‘infotainment,’ in view of recent news coverage of crimes. However, we hope that television stations can exercise self-discipline in this regard,” he added.
Ho said that if passed, the commission’s proposed act on preventing monopolization of the media and preserving diversity (廣播電視壟斷防治與多元維護法) will require broadcast media to list self-disciplinary clauses in their program production guidelines.
Other complaints include that TV stations failed to maintain a clear distinction between programs and advertisements, or aired content detrimental to the mental health of children and youth, or infringing on public order.
Nevertheless, the report showed that the number of complaints received last year had dropped 44.5 percent compared with 2011, which the commission attributed to the new “frequently asked questions” section on its Web site.
About 94 percent of the complaints were about television content, whereas only 2.9 percent were about content broadcast over the radio.
The Watch Internet Network (WIN), a private organization funded by the commission, reported 8,914 complaints about Internet content last year — three times more than the number of complaints filed over broadcasting content.
The report also showed that the commission received about NT$27.4 million (US$914,308) from penalties leveled against violators of media laws last year, which was 53 percent lower than in 2011.
No TV channel accumulated more than 10 violations.
Though failure to maintain a clear distinction between television programs and commercials was still ranked the No.1 reason for punishment last year, the total fines collected by the commission in this category of violation were down 50.4 percent compared with 2011, at NT$15.59 million.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS