The National Communications Commission (NCC) would not deliberate over a proposal by cable systems to broadcast Mirror News on channel 86 until after it clarifies controversies related to the news channel, NCC Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) told a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee.
Chen was asked to brief the committee about the commission’s investigation into a series of issues that came to light after Mirror News in January obtained a broadcasting license to air on Chunghwa Telecom’s multimedia-on-demand (MOD) system, including the channel’s frequent changes of shareholders and board members, its financial soundness and the leaking of business secrets.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Tseng Ming-chung (曾銘宗) said that the commission was reportedly scheduled to approve Mirror News’ s application to change board members and supervisors yesterday morning, despite the lingering controversies.
Photo: CNA
He asked whether the commission could make decisions independently under Chen’s leadership.
“The KMT caucus will boycott the review of the commission’s budget plan for the next fiscal year if the commission insists on approving the case without sorting out the controversies first,” Tseng said.
KMT Legislator Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文) said that the commission’s investigation report says that it lacked the resources to trace the sources of funding, and the shareholders denied any illegal transfer of shares.
This shows that the commission failed to conduct a thorough investigation, she said.
Anonymous sources within Mirror News and the NCC have said that the channel has yet to be completely dissociated from Mirror Media, which was one of the conditions it agreed upon to secure the broadcasting license, Cheng said.
“Are you eager to approve the change of shareholders and board members that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) promised to Mirror Media founder Pei Wei (裴偉)?” Cheng asked, adding that the NCC should neither approve the change nor allow Mirror News to broadcast on channel 86 given all the unsettled issues.
New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) said that several of Mirror News’ major shareholders have reportedly contravened the conditions set by the NCC for the channel to obtain a broadcasting license by selling their shares before 2027.
As the channel could receive funding from China, the commission should stop reviewing cases related to Mirror News until the controversies are cleared up, Chen Jiau-hua said.
Chen Yaw-shyang denied that the commission had received required supplementary documents from Mirror News on Christmas Eve and was set to approve the change of board members and supervisors yesterday, saying that “it is unsubstantiated, false information.”
He accused news media outlets and individuals of spreading unfounded information.
During a commissioner’s meeting on Wednesday last week, the NCC only agreed to allow the channel to raise its paid-in capital from NT$ 1.35 billion to NT$2 billion (US$43.95 million to US$65.11 million), which was a condition that the news channel had to meet three months after it obtained its license, he said.
“However, we have not approved the channel’s proposed changes to board members, supervisors and corporate by-laws and have asked them to provide supplementary documents for review. As we have not received all the required documents, we could not possibly pass the application at the commissioners’ meeting yesterday,” Chen Yaw-shyang said.
The commission has not found substantial evidence that the news channel’s shareholders have sold their shares, he said.
“We are conducting an administrative investigation, not a criminal investigation. We do not have the right to conduct a search or confiscate materials, nor can we turn the case over to prosecutors unless criminal offenses are involved,” he added.
“We cannot promise to completely halt the review of cases. We can only promise that no ruling will be issued until the controversies are clarified. We will deliberate proposals from several cable systems to air Mirror News on channel 86 until the changes of the channel’s board members and supervisors are finalized,” Chen Yaw-shyang said.
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