Eight opposition-nominated members of the Public Television Service (PTS) board review committee resigned yesterday, escalating a dispute over nomination procedures and political norms ahead of a scheduled review meeting on Thursday next week.
In a joint open letter addressed to Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), committee members Wu Yung-chien (吳永乾), Tung Pao-cheng (董保城), Tu Sheng-tsung (杜聖聰), Liao Yuan-hao (廖元豪), Hsu Liang-yuan (許良源), Lo Kuo-chun (羅國俊), Ma Yung-jui (馬詠睿) and Pan Tsu-yin (潘祖蔭) announced their decision to step down.
They said Minister of Culture Li Yuan (李遠) contravened the spirit of the Public Television Act (公共電視法) and long-standing legislative practices by failing to consult political parties in advance regarding candidate nominations.
Photo courtesy of the Public Television Service
Li had repeatedly pushed nominations based on personal judgement rather than cross-party consensus, making it difficult for them to fulfill the Legislative Yuan’s mandate to conduct a fair and credible review, the members said.
Without adhering to established consultation practices, the legitimacy of the review process would be undermined, they added.
The dispute follows earlier appeals from the same group urging the Ministry of Culture to engage in dialogue with all political parties over the selection of PTS board candidates.
At the time, the ministry said that appointments of board members should be determined by the professional judgement of impartial reviewers and called for rational discussion over the candidates’ qualifications.
The ministry in response to the letter said that committee members should engage in substantive, professional deliberations and reach decisions through voting, adding that none of the 49 provisions of the act stipulates a requirement for “cross-party negotiations.”
Past board selections required multiple rounds of review spanning nearly 1,000 days, the ministry said, criticizing what it described as “political coercion and hostage-taking” disguised as negotiation.
The ministry said its 10 nominees were the result of broad consultation and careful consideration, and highlighted their diversity in expertise, background, age and social credibility.
It rejected accusations that the nominations served personal interests.
Officials said that although a meeting earlier this month had already met quorum requirements, the ministry rescheduled the session to Thursday next week to ensure fair participation, particularly given the smaller number of opposition-nominated members.
The ministry urged the resigning members to uphold their duty as representatives of the public interest and return to the review process, warning against abandoning their role at a critical stage.
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