The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that if amendments passed by the legislature on Tuesday go into effect, the commission would only have three members from next month, which would affect the normal functioning of its operations.
The amendments to the National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) restrict all commission members to a maximum of two terms and remove all clauses regarding extensions or reappointments.
They also state that if the commission cannot find seven members as mandated, the premier is obligated to nominate people to fill the positions within three months.
Photo :CNA
NCC members were scheduled to review and approve sales of the new iPhone16 which was expected to be available for purchase next month.
NCC Chief Secretary Huang Wen-che (黃文哲) told a news conference that four NCC members’ terms expire this month, and there are no provisions to enable the NCC to appoint new members by the end of the month.
As the NCC’s operations would be affected, it must start to make internal adjustments and prioritize important tasks, so that the functioning and utilization of media and telecommunications networks are not affected, Huang said.
The NCC has not yet received the new iPhone devices to test and review so that it can approve them for sale in Taiwan, he said.
It is still uncertain as to when the amendments would take effect, but the commission plans to make an effort to ensure our testing and review of new devices is not affected, he said.
As NCC Commissioner Chen Yaw-shyang’s (陳耀祥) term expires by end this month, NCC Deputy Commissioner Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) might take over his role.
Huang said he could not comment on the matter as the Cabinet is responsible for making the appointment.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
RSS