The Chinese National Party (KMT) yesterday accused the National Communications Commission (NCC) of allowing political talk shows to breach the media self-regulation principle and launch excessive attacks on former KMT legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恆), who is the party’s candidate in a by-election in Taichung’s second electoral district on Jan. 9.
The party yesterday morning submitted documents to the media regulator that it says proves the shows’ bias against Yen.
It also encouraged members of the public to write letters to the commission, asking it to penalize the channels that broadcast the shows for contravening the regulations.
Photo: Liao Hsueh-ju, Taipei Times
When it was still broadcasting on cable systems, CTi News was fined by the commission for its overreporting on some politicians, KMT Taipei City Councilor Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) said, adding that the news channel was even asked to change the management of its news department.
“Some of the political talk shows have been attacking Yen from 2pm to 10pm daily as if Yen were running for president,” she said. “We are here today to ask the NCC to investigate biased media coverage against Yen. It is unfair that broadcast media attack Yen as if he were a punching bag.”
Seven talk shows on Formosa TV, Sanlih TV and Next TV talk about Yen negatively on a daily basis, former Kaohsiung Information Bureau director Cheng Chao-hsin (鄭照新) said.
Taiwan Frontline, a talk show on Formosa TV, talked about Yen 37 times, while guests on Sanlih TV’s New Taiwan Refueling discussed topics related to Yen 24 times, he said.
KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Huang Tzu-che (黃子哲) accused the talk shows of double standards in covering Yen and his Democratic Progressive Party opponent in the by-election, former legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀).
“When talking about Yen, guests repeatedly focus on negative aspects, but defend Lin or do not even talk about her at all,” Huang said, adding that the NCC should fine broadcast media for airing unauthenticated content that could sway the election result.
NCC Vice Chairman and spokesman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said that the commission from Oct. 31 to Nov. 15 received 36 complaints alleging untruthful remarks about the KMT candidate, including 18 related to a talk show on Sanlih TV’s iNews channel, nine related to New Taiwan Refueling and nine related to Formosa TV’s Spicy News 152.
“We will handle them based on our standardized procedures,” he said.
While the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法) requires television stations to provide truthful contents and balanced coverage, it does not stipulate penalties for channels that fail to adhering to the balanced coverage principle, Wong said.
“Since 2018, we have been publishing a report on news channels’ coverage of politicians during midday and primetime news shows, so that the public can see whether news channels have overreported or underreported politician,” Wong said.
He added that the reports, published every two months, are available on the commission’s Web site, www.ncc.gov.tw/chinese/news.aspx?site_content_sn=5330.
However, the commission does not monitor comments on talk shows, and the report covering shows aired last month and this month would be published next month, the commission said.
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