The National Communications Commission (NCC) will hold a meeting with the management of Taiwan Television (TTV) and four other TV stations today to determine the reasons behind TTV displaying vote counts on screen before the polls closed during the local elections on Saturday.
This year, polls closed at 5pm, one hour later than in previous elections.
TTV’s Web site was showing vote counts for all candidates by 4:35pm. It showed that Yilan County Commissioner Lu Guo-hua (呂國華) had garnered 149,000 votes, beating his Democratic Progressive Party challenger Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢), who, according to the site, had received 87,000 votes.
NCC officials monitoring TV coverage of the elections found that China Television Co (CTV), Formosa Television, Eastern TV and Chinese Television Service (CTS) showed that Hsu Ching-ming (許敬民), the independent candidate for Kinmen County Commissioner, had secured 80 votes only a minute after the polls were officially closed.
“Everybody knows that it was impossible to have any vote counts before 5pm,” said Jason Ho (何吉森), director of the NCC’s communication content department, adding that TTV and the other stations would be asked to explain themselves.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry