Thirty-seven television and radio stations across the nation, including International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT), TaiwanPlus and the nation’s three oldest terrestrial television stations, might be taken off the air, as the National Communications Commission (NCC) does not have enough commissioners to convene meetings to review their license renewal applications.
The seven-member commission has only three commissioners. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) requires a quorum of four to hold a meeting.
The Executive Yuan had nominated four names to replace four outgoing ones, but the legislature’s Transportation Committee did not review the nominations.
Photo: Taipei Times
The Executive Yuan later asked then-NCC vice chairman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗), who was nominated to be NCC chairman, to temporarily assume the post of NCC chairman.
However, the legislature passed an amendment to the NCC Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法), which bans any NCC member from serving more than two terms. Wong, who had served two terms, left after the amendment took effect.
There are 37 television and radio stations whose broadcasting licenses are scheduled to expire in the first half of this year, NCC secretary-general Huang Wen-che (黃文哲) said.
The list includes four terrestrial television stations — Taiwan Television, China Television, Chinese Television System and Taiwan Public Television Service (PTS) — whose licenses will expire on June 30.
The government-funded English-language channel TaiwanPlus would also be affected, as it operates using PTS’ license, the commission said.
Furthermore, 25 radio stations are slated for license renewal, Huang said.
The broadcasting licenses of ICRT, Fu-Hsin Broadcasting Station International, National Education Radio, Police Broadcasting Service, Taipei Broadcasting Station and Kaohsiung Broadcasting Station are to expire on June 30, while the licenses for the rest of the group would expire between June 18 and June 30, he said.
ICRT is Taiwan’s only English-language radio station and serves the expatriate community here.
Fu-Hsin Broadcasting Station is a military broadcasting service funded by the Ministry of National Defense, while the National Education Radio is supported by the Ministry of Education to produce educational programs.
The Police Broadcasting Service, which is backed by the National Police Agency, is considered a reliable source of traffic reports.
The Taipei and Kaohsiung broadcasting stations are supported by the Taipei and Kaohsiung city governments respectively.
Meanwhile, the broadcasting licenses of eight satellite television broadcasters would expire between next month and June. MTV Live and Nick Jr of Taipei Postproduction (台北影業公司) might see an immediate impact, as their licenses will expire on March 7, Huang said.
The commission has no legal grounds to allow these stations to continue to operate by granting them a temporary license, he said.
Article 12-1 of the Radio and Television Act (廣播電視法) stipulates that the NCC may grant a three-month operating license to broadcasters should the agency find items they need to address when reviewing their license renewal applications. It does not apply in the current situation, Huang said.
As failure to renew the licenses of these broadcast media would significantly hurt the public interest, the commission has invited external experts to propose solutions at a meeting on Feb. 20, he said.
Broadcasters are entitled to seek judicial remedies, such as court injunctions to keep them on the air, the commission said.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS