The National Communications Commission’s (NCC) decision to reject CTi News’ broadcasting license renewal last month was consistent with earlier decisions, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
Citing “repeated violations of regulations, and failure of its internal discipline and control mechanisms,” the NCC on Nov. 18 rejected a renewal application for the channel’s license, which expired at 12am today.
The DPP’s statement came in response to a news conference held by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in Taipei earlier yesterday, at which it said that the closure of the channel raised concerns over the freedoms of speech and the press.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The NCC has consistently applied the same standards for license renewals, including while former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT was in office, the DPP said.
“The NCC has abided by the law and its regulations,” the DPP said.
Taiwan Solidarity Union Secretary-General Chou Ni-an (周倪安) said that she supported the NCC’s decision, citing Reporters Without Borders as saying that the decision “does not go against press freedom.”
“The KMT had total control over Taiwan’s media for more than half a century of authoritarian rule, with rigid restrictions on free speech that severely impeded Taiwan’s democratic development,” Chou said. “KMT officials have yet to apologize for this.”
“Although the KMT is based in Taiwan, it is increasingly cozying up to China, while denouncing Taiwan,” she said. “In terms of press freedom, China ranks among the lowest in the world.”
The KMT’s pleas to the international community are hypocritical, Chou said.
The Taiwan Statebuilding Party also rebuked the KMT.
“Ma and KMT leaders have appealed to the international media, saying that the government is clamping down on freedom of speech. They have labeled the government a dictatorship. However, it is well-known that the real dictatorship in Taiwan was that of the KMT,” the party said in a statement.
“It shows that the KMT is acting as China’s mouthpiece and representing Chinese interests in Taiwan,” it said. “This is well known to the international community. The KMT’s defense of CTi News shows that it has not kept pace with worldwide trends.”
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