The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said that membership in its Central Advisory Committee is an honorary position, and that the National Communications Commission (NCC) would be overextending the law if it considered committee members “political party workers.”
The KMT on Wednesday said that it is to appoint six new members to the committee, one of whom was Broadcasting Corp of China (BCC) chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康), who earlier this month announced his intention to compete in the party’s presidential primary.
If Jaw were to accept the position, the NCC said that it would launch an investigation to determine whether it is illegal, with the BCC facing potential fines of up to NT$2 million (US$70,597).
The KMT said in a statement yesterday that the NCC would be expanding the provisions of the Radio and Television Act (廣播電視法) banning political parties, the government and the military from holding stakes in media outlets.
The NCC would be the one breaching the law, the KMT said, accusing the commission of becoming the Democratic Progressive Party’s “political thug.”
Citing Article 3 of the Enforcement Rules of the Radio and Television Act (廣播電視法施行細則), the KMT said that even if a person holds a position in a political organization, if the position is consultative in nature, they would not be considered a “political party worker.”
According to the KMT charter, being a member of the party’s Central Advisory Committee is an honorary consultative position, the KMT said.
The committee meets only once a year, it said, adding that most members are elder statespeople or senior KMT members.
The KMT Central Committee is in charge of the decisionmaking, it said.
Central Advisory Committee members merely act in consultative roles and do not hold any real power, it added.
If the NCC considers Central Advisory Committee members to be “political party workers” and asks Jaw to step down from management of the BCC after he becomes a committee member, the NCC would not only be overextending the law, but also openly intervening in media operations, the KMT said.
The purpose of the NCC’s establishment was to independently supervise media operations, and it should not help the ruling party suppress and interfere with an individual’s’ exercise of political rights, it said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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