The National Communications Commission (NCC) does not plan to push passage of the draft digital intermediary service act next year, as there is no public consensus on the necessity for the legislation, NCC Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) said yesterday.
Some people have speculated that the broadcast media and telecom regulator might have hurt the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the local elections on Saturday by pushing for a bill that would restrict online speech freedoms.
“We will not push [the draft act] if the public does not reach a consensus, nor do we have time to present a new version of the draft act next year,” Chen said.
Photo: Chen Hsin-yu, Taipei Times
Chen was responding to a question from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) during a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee.
The NCC presented the draft digital intermediary service act to generate public discussion on how the Internet should be governed and regulated, Chen said, adding that the commission is continuing efforts to have public dialogue on the matter despite halting the legislation.
Separately, SET News, Formosa News and Era News have been asked by the NCC to conduct internal investigations after the commission on Saturday received five complaints about their election day news coverage, Chen said.
The criticism was related to problems with the coverage of vote counts in the Taipei mayoral election, including two instances on SET News, two on Formosa News and one on Era News, the NCC said on Wednesday.
The news networks were accused of deliberately inflating the vote tallies of DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), showing him leading the race in the early counting.
Some people following SET News on the Internet reported that votes for the DPP Taipei mayoral candidate surged to 376,702 about 100 minutes after polls closed at 4pm, leaving that number static while incrementally adding votes for other candidates.
Separate from the complaints, the NCC and Central Election Commission (CEC) found that SET News mixed up the on-screen vote tally for DPP Pingtung County Commissioner candidate Chou Chun-mi (周春米) with her opponent, KMT candidate Su Ching-chuan (蘇清泉), making it appear that Chou was trailing Su.
“The CEC will determine if the networks contravened the Civil Servants Election And Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), while the NCC will investigate if the networks contravened the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法),” Chen said.
The ethics committees of all three networks have been asked to convene within three weeks to review the complaints and errors, publish their investigations online and submit their reports to the NCC, he said.
An independent committee is to review the investigation reports before determining if they have contravened broadcast regulations, Chen said.
The networks could face fines of up to NT$2 million (US$65,289) for failing to verify information before publishing it as per the Satellite Broadcasting Act, Chen said.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
RSS