The Executive Yuan yesterday announced four new nominees to serve as members of the National Communications Commission (NCC).
The commission has been unable to convene and rule on any case for the past eight months as it lacked the mandated quorum of four members needed to hold valid meetings.
The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
The four nominees are National Cheng Kung University computer science and information engineering professor Chiang Jung-hsien (蔣榮先), Soochow University law professor Cherng Ming-shiou (程明修), National Chengchi University professor Vivian Huang (黃葳威) and Shih Hsin University assistant professor Lo Huei-wen (羅慧雯).
Chiang would serve as NCC chairman, while Cherng would serve as vice chairman, the Executive Yuan said.
Cherng is a member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), while the other three do not have party affiliations, it said.
The four nominees are qualified to be commissioners with their extensive expertise in information technology, law and mass communications, the Executive Yuan said.
Chiang specializes in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and big data analysis, while Cherng focuses on economic administrative law, regulatory theories, concession laws, constitutional litigation and the fundamental right to information, it said.
Huang’s expertise includes the audiovisual media market, communication ethics, media literacy and cybersecurity, while Lo specializes in communication policies, the communications industry, public media and political economy, it added.
Their terms would end on July 31, 2028, the Executive Yuan said.
Aside from their expertise, the nominees’ political affiliation and gender were also taken into account to comply with the National Communications Commission Organization Act (通傳會組織法) and other regulations, it said.
“We hope that the Legislative Yuan would soon confirm the appointments to ensure that the commission can continue to operate,” it added.
The Executive Yuan last year nominated four people to replace the four outgoing members, but the legislature’s 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 that 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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