Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers yesterday vowed to work together to oppose the nominees for new National Communications Commission (NCC) members after a media tycoon was said to have intervened in the nominating process.
Chinese-language media reported that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government originally tapped Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) division director Liu Po-li (劉柏立) to chair the nation’s broadcast media and telecoms regulator. The nomination was allegedly canceled because of the intervention of a Taiwanese media tycoon, although the media reports did not identify who that person was.
“Despite extensive media coverage on the intervention from the media tycoon, the Presidential Office, Executive Yuan and the DPP have yet to retort, deny or comment on any of the allegations,” KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said. “Is the DPP tacitly confirming these allegations, and letting speculations run wild in the news media while testing the public reaction and controlling the narrative on this matter?”
Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei Times
Hung said the new NCC commissioners should be nominated by premier-designate Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) after he takes office on May 20, rather than by Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), with the nominees being approved by the Legislative Yuan later.
Liu was said to replace NCC Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥), whose term expires in July.
Meanwhile, National Taiwan Normal University Graduate Institute of Mass Communication professor Chen Ping-hung (陳炳宏), Shih Hsin University communications management assistant professor Lo Huei-wen (羅慧雯) and NCC Department of Platform and Business director Chan I-Lien (詹懿廉) were reported to be nominated to replace three outgoing NCC commissioners: NCC Vice Chairman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗), and NCC commissioners Lin Li-yun (林麗雲) and Wang Wei-ching (王維菁), whose terms also expire in July.
The nominees are known for their expertise in telecommunications and media studies, rather than their political footprint.
KMT caucus deputy secretary Wang Hong-wei (王鴻薇) said the media tycoon was said to have influenced the nominations of new NCC commissioners through former DPP legislator Pan Meng-an (潘孟安), who has been designated the new Presidential Office secretary-general.
Canceling Liu’s nomination would be the biggest scandal in the communications sector, Wang said.
“Now everybody knows that the NCC is not only controlled by the DPP, but is also controlled by a powerful media group. The new government should explain itself once it takes office,” Wang said.
TPP Legislator Lin Kuo-cheng (林國成) said his caucus would work with the KMT caucus in reviewing the nominations of new NCC commissioners.
“The DPP still thinks that it can do whatever it wants when it comes to the nominations of new NCC commissioners. As an opposition party, we will work with the KMT for the sake of the truth and the people,” he said.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
RSS