The National Communications Commission (NCC) cannot approve the renewals of broadcast licenses as it lacks a quorum of members, NCC Acting Chairman Chen Chung-shu (陳崇樹) said today.
He made these remarks in a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee today.
The licenses of networks like Taiwan Television (TTV), China Television (CTV) and Chinese Television System (CTS) are to expire in June but they would not face service outages, Chen said.
Photo: Lin Chih-yi, Taipei Times
However, 37 operators would be affected in the first half of this year.
The license expirations are not the operators’ fault, Chen said, and the NCC has kept them informed of progress on their reviews, he added.
As there is no quorum, channel removals also cannot be reviewed by the NCC, so they must remain for the time being as well, Chen said.
Compared to the licensing of the air channels, the broadcast networks issue is more complex as there are also questions around their use of certain frequencies, he added.
Citing the Telecommunications Management Act (根據電信管理法) and discussions with the Ministry of Digital Affairs, Chen said authorities must first terminate a radio frequency user’s registration prior to taking a channel off air.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Mong-kai (洪孟楷) asked why the Executive Yuan had not submitted a list of NCC nominees to the Legislative Yuan.
In response, Chen said that there had been a list of nominees submitted to the Legislative Yuan, although he added he was unsure if a new list would be submitted in the future.
Citing regulations, he said that the right to nominate individuals to the NCC lies solely with the premier and the NCC plays no role in the process.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) said the Executive Yuan submitted a list of nominees on April 30 last year but the KMT-controlled Procedure Committee blocked it.
The issue of the NCC’s budget also remains unsolved and it will run out of operational funds in April, Chen Chung-shu said.
Although the NCC is currently negotiating with landlords about postponing rent payments, that would only be able to last until September, Chen added.
Once the water and electricity are turned off, “information systems” that serve the public would also go offline, he said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
RSS