CtiTV News (中天新聞) dedicated 70 percent of its airtime in May to Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday.
The commission conducted an audit of news reporting by 11 media companies in May, finding that nine of them reported most frequently on Han, it said yesterday.
Taiwan Television (台視), China Television (中視), Chinese Television System (華視), Next TV (壹電視), Era News (年代新聞), EBC News (東森), CtiTV, Formosa Television (民視), Sanlih Entertainment Television (三立), TVBS and Global News (寰宇新聞) were all audited, it said.
The NCC conducted the audit between May 21 and 27, from 12pm to 1pm and 7pm to 8pm daily, NCC Department of Broadcasting and Content specialist Chen Shu-ming (陳書銘) said.
CtiTV dedicated the most airtime to Han, and it gave 60 percent more airtime to Han than to its next most-broadcast politicians, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the NCC said, adding that Ko and Tsai each received about 9 percent of CtiTV’s airtime.
Taiwan Television allocated most of its airtime to Ko and Chinese Television System focused mostly on former premier William Lai (賴清德), while the other stations focused predominantly on Han, he said.
TVBS also gave the second-greatest amount of airtime to Ko, allocating him about 20 percent, the NCC said.
In March, the NCC gave CtiTV a deadline to effect improvements, included providing more balanced reporting of politicians, it said.
Meanwhile, a report yesterday in Britain’s Financial Times said that reporting by CtiTV was one-sided in favor of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and that it did not report on national news related to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), such as her visit to diplomatic allies in the Caribbean.
CtiTV and other media outlets under the Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時集團) received instructions directly from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, the Times quoted a CtiTV reporter as saying, on condition of anonymity.
“They call every day. They don’t meddle in everything, mainly topics related to cross-strait relations and to China. They have a say in the angle of the story and whether it goes on the front page,” the reporter said.
The Times said China plans to have Han Kuo-yu elected and has enlisted Taiwanese media to help.
Han has rejected the allegations, but there is evidence that Want Want is behind his campaign, such as when it sent reporters and editorial managers to Kaohsiung before the mayoral election in November last year, the paper said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source