National Communications Commission (NCC) Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) yesterday said that he would neither resign nor recuse himself from reviews of cases related to Mirror News, even after Taipei’s Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office listed him as a defendant in such a case, alleging that he exercised undue influence to help the news channel secure a broadcasting license.
The Shilin office accused Chen of malfeasance in office and contravening the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). The case was yesterday transferred to the Taipei Prosecutors’ Office.
“I have not received any information about this matter,” Chen told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. “Lawsuits related to Mirror News were filed by shareholders who are in dispute with one other, and we have turned documents related to these lawsuits over to the prosecutors. We respect the investigations into the commission’s role in the dispute.”
Photo: CNA
Chen said that he felt “shocked” after hearing the “regrettable” news that he was listed as a defendant, adding that he and other NCC staff are innocent.
The Transportation Committee yesterday rejected a motion proposed by New Power Party legislators asking Chen to recuse himself from reviews related to Mirror News.
“So far, we have only heard about Chen being listed as a defendant from the news. We have neither seen any document sent by the prosecutors nor seen substantial evidence in the case. We will not know if Chen needs to recuse himself until the prosecutors release the results of their investigation,” said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Hsueh-sheng (陳雪生), who serves as the convener of the committee.
Meanwhile, Mirror News founder Pei Wei (裴偉) was listed as a defendant after being accused by a shareholder of contravening the Company Act (公司法) and breach of trust under the Criminal Code.
The cable news channel has been mired in controversy since it obtained the license on Jan. 19 last year — the first broadcasting license granted to a news channel in the past 10 years. Its operation also came under scrutiny following a series of management reshuffles.
Recorded conversations provided by a whistle-blower last year appeared to show that Pei told shareholders that then-premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) had instructed Chen to grant Mirror News the license. They also indicate that former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) secretary-general Hong Yao-fu (洪耀福) told Chen that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is in favor of the station being granted a license.
Su, the Presidential Office and Mirror News denied the allegations.
Former Taiwan People’s Party legislator Tsai Pi-ru (蔡璧如) last year reported the allegations to the Ministry of Justice, which assigned the Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office to review them.
SCANDAL: There are still discussions over whether a ban from being coaches, referees or agents should be imposed on the players, the association said The Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA), Taiwan’s basketball governing body, on Tuesday said that it has handed lifetime bans to 10 players accused of game-fixing and breaches of betting rules. In a statement on Tuesday, the CTBA said it has revoked the registration of nine former players from the semi-professional Super Basketball League’s (SBL) Yulon Lexgen Dinos and one from the Taiwan Beer Leopards of the professional T1 League. The nine former Dinos players are Ko Min-hao (柯旻豪), Chiu Chung-po (邱忠博), Chen Pin-chuan (陳品銓), Huang Hsuan-min (黃鉉閔), Wu Yu-jen (吳祐任), Chou Wei-chen (周暐宸), Yen Wen-tso (顏聞佐), Lee Chi-en (李其恩), and Senegalese center
It took director Chong Keat Aun (張吉安) nearly a decade to complete Snow in Midsummer (五月雪), a deft chronicle of Malaysia’s May 13 incident told through one woman’s search for her brother and father. Although only his second feature, it led the field at yesterday’s Golden Horse Awards with nine nominations. Chong said it had been a struggle to get people to share their memories of the intercommunal violence following the 1969 national election, known among the country’s ethnic Chinese community as “513.” “My father, for example, would shut the conversation down if my mother or grandma even mentioned the topic,” Chong said
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a surge in respiratory illnesses in China has been caused by at least seven types of pathogens, and small children, elderly people and immunocompromised people should temporarily avoid unnecessary visits to China. The recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China is mainly in the north and among children, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said on Monday. Data released by the Chinese National Health Commission on Sunday showed that among children aged one to four, the main pathogens were influenza viruses and rhinoviruses, while among children aged five to 14, the main pathogens
A new poll of Taiwanese voters found the top opposition candidate for president jumping past the ruling party’s hopeful into the lead position ahead of January’s election — the latest twist in a drama-filled race. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had an approval rating of 31.9 percent versus 29.2 percent for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), ranked third with 23.6 percent, according to the survey conducted
RSS