National Communications Commission (NCC) Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) does not intervene in the preliminary reviews of applications to establish cable news channels, the regulator said yesterday in response to a report that Chen was advocating for the approval of a Mirror Media application.
The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that the media group had a good chance of securing preliminary approval for its Mirror TV.
Citing an insider source, the report said that Chen was working to ensure the application would obtain a majority of votes among an external expert review committee, which was to meet yesterday.
The NCC said the report was false.
Mirror Media first filed an application to establish a news channel in December 2019, but withdrew it this year and submitted a new one in May, the commission said, adding that outside experts were reviewing the new application.
“The NCC respects experts’ opinions and has never intervened in committee meetings,” the commission said.
“After the case is reviewed by outside experts, it would be deliberated again by NCC commissioners, when the management of the media group would be invited to answer questions,” it said, adding that it does not set a deadline by which the review must be completed.
“We would not give special treatment to any specific news channel, and it is regrettable that some news media would characterize the review procedures this way,” it added.
Mirror Media had its first setback in August last year, when external experts recommended that the NCC reject its application for a news channel. After the group submitted supplementary information, NCC commissioners on Jan. 20 began deliberating the case.
During the January meeting, then-Mirror TV chairman Pei Wei (裴偉) said the channel would not air political talk shows during prime time, adding that it would retain National Chengchi University adjunct professor Weng Shieu-chi (翁秀琪) as a full-time ombudsman to monitor news quality, a position that does not exist at other Taiwanese news channels.
The group also assured the NCC that the news channel and its weekly magazine would operate separately, with different shareholders, board directors and content.
Audio-visual content shown on the magazine’s Web site would not be aired on the TV channel, it added.
Pei resigned in May and was succeeded by former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Chen Chien -ping (陳建平). The move was interpreted by some as a way for the channel to secure approval faster.
NCC Vice Chairman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said the commission would review Mirror Media’s application based on criteria in the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), adding that he cannot comment on any pending case.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
American climber Alex Honnold is to attempt a free climb of Taipei 101 today at 9am, with traffic closures around the skyscraper. To accommodate the climb attempt and filming, the Taipei Department of Transportation said traffic controls would be enforced around the Taipei 101 area. If weather conditions delay the climb, the restrictions would be pushed back to tomorrow. Traffic controls would be in place today from 7am to 11am around the Taipei 101 area, the department said. Songzhi Road would be fully closed in both directions between Songlian Road and Xinyi Road Sec 5, it said, adding that bidirectional traffic controls would
RSS