Media reform advocates protested in front of the Executive Yuan again yesterday, demanding the resignation of Public Television Service (PTS) chairwoman Yaly Chao (趙雅麗), as well as the service’s boards of directors and supervisors.
Yesterday’s demonstration was the latest in a series of protests calling for a resolution to the long-stalled formation of a new board of directors and supervisors for the station.
In addition to the resignation of Chao and the others in charge of PTS, the protesters called for lawmakers to amend the Public Television Service Act (公視法) in the next legislative session to reduce the number of directors needed to convene the PTS board. Five nominees for the board were approved by a committee reviewing the nominations on Jan. 18, leaving the board four shy of the minimum 17 members the act requires it to have to operate.
The prospect of prolonging the inactivity of the PTS board has enraged media reform groups.
Among those protesting yesterday were Olympic bronze medalist Chi Cheng (紀政), National Chung Cheng University associate professor Hu Yuan-hui (胡元輝), National Taiwan University journalism professor Lin Lih-yun (林麗雲), Campaign for Media Reform representative Chiu Chia-yi (邱家宜) and National Chiao Tung University associate professor of mass communications Wei Ti (魏玓).
They were joined by several student and representatives of PTS’ and Chinese Television System’s unions.
“The failure to resolve the paralysis of the PTS board of directors is a big international joke. Public television is a reflection of democratic society. The sit-in vigils this past week are our silent protest against PTS,” Hu said.
The media activists said they are in the process of contacting international news organizations and public television networks in other countries in preparation for an international press conference they plan to hold in Taiwan soon.
The conference would raise international awareness of the PTS fiasco and other critical media issues facing the nation, they said.
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