The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications.
The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June.
The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting.
Photo: Lin Chih-yi, Taipei Time
The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners.
“We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and that they are not at fault for the delay in license renewal,” NCC Acting Chairman Chen Chung-shu (陳崇樹) told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee.
The commission also told cable operators and Chunghwa Telecom’s multimedia-on-demand (MOD) system that they should maintain their channel lineup for the benefit and interests of their viewers, Chen said.
“As any adjustment in channel lineups have to be approved by NCC commissioners, cable and MOD system operators cannot take down any of these channels,” he added.
Among the channels whose licenses need to renewed, Taiwan Television, China Television, Chinese Television Service and PTS are terrestrial television stations, which hold special broadcasting licenses to transmit signals via government-designated frequencies.
The handling of terrestrial channels is more complicated than that of cable channels as the former are “must carry” channels on cable systems and the frequencies they use are managed by the Ministry of Digital Affairs.
“The ministry will not take back those frequencies unless the broadcasting licenses are annulled, which should be decided by the NCC,” Chen said, adding that broadcasting of terrestrial channels should continue as no decision can be made at this point.
During the meeting yesterday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) and Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲), as well as Taiwan People’s Party legislators Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and Lin Kuo-cheng (林國成), said it is the Executive Yuan, not the legislature, that should be blamed for paralyzing the NCC, as it has yet to give a new list of NCC commissioners for the legislature to review.
Lin, who was elected a convener of the Transportation Committee this legislative session, demanded that the NCC apologize after NCC Commissioner Wang Cheng-chia (王正嘉) posted on Facebook criticizing the legislature for the chaos.
Lin also urged the commission to quickly file briefings to unfreeze its part of the budget.
Chen said that half of the commission’s budget was cut by the legislature, while 10 percent of the remaining budget has been frozen, adding that the commission might be closed after September if there is no additional funding.
The Executive Yuan last year nominated four people to replace four outgoing members, but the Transportation Committee twice rejected reviewing the nominations during the previous legislative session.
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 chairman.
However, the legislature passed an amendment to the National Communications Commission Organization Act which bans any NCC member from serving more than two terms. Wong, who had served two terms, left after the amendment took effect.
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