Lawmakers today agreed to reduce this year’s budget for the Public Television Service (PTS) by just 1 percent, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) said, following backlash against a proposal earlier this week to slash the entirety of the service’s budget.
KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) on Wednesday submitted a motion to cut the entire NT$2.309 billion (US$70.15 million) Ministry of Culture budget allocated to PTS and its subsidiary broadcasting services, including the English-language broadcasting platform Taiwan Plus.
Wang said that this particular proposal was only put forward by Chen.
Photo: Lin Hsin-han, Taipei Times
However, KMT legislators, including herself, Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強), Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) and Wan Mei-ling (萬美玲), had submitted their own plans, Wang added.
Following negotiations with the Education and Culture Committee today, lawmakers decided on a 1-percent cut of NT$23 million, Wang said.
The central government’s budget for this year is still under review, she said, adding that it is dangerous to spread false information regarding budget allocations and misguide public opinion.
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