The Legislative Yuan today rejected all four nominees for the National Communications Commission (NCC), as the opposition caucuses utilized their majority to vote against confirmation.
The commission has been unable to convene and rule on any case for the past 11 months, as it lacks the mandated quorum of four members.
The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus said they voted against the nominees, as they suspected they would just “carry out the Democratic Progressive Party’s will.”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus also said they decided to block all four nominations.
At the end of July, the Executive Yuan nominated 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) to serve as members of the NCC.
Chiang would serve as NCC chairman, while Cherng would serve as vice chairman, the Executive Yuan said.
Cherng is a member of the KMT, while the other three do not have party affiliations, it said.
The Legislative Yuan’s Transportation and Education and Culture committees reviewed the nominations last month, leaving the legislature to vote on the case today.
TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) condemned Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) for “deceiving the legislature” and “maliciously delaying” the nomination of NCC members.
Cho had said he would submit the nominee list in April or May, but failed to do so until July, Huang said.
Cho had waited for the recall referendums on July 26 and Aug. 23 to be held, which if they had been successful, would have enabled the DPP to regain its legislative majority to pass the NCC nominations, he said.
KMT Legislator and Transportation Committee convener Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said that the process of nominating NCC members had been delayed for a year.
The KMT cannot respect nominees who do not respect freedom of the press, Hung said, adding that future nominations should be made openly and transparently.
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